| Success Dam | |
|---|---|
  Location of Success Dam in California | |
| Official name | Richard L. Schafer Dam |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Porterville, California |
| Coordinates | 36°03′38″N118°55′09″W / 36.06056°N 118.91917°W /36.06056; -118.91917 |
| Construction began | 1958; 67 years ago (1958) |
| Opening date | 1961; 64 years ago (1961) |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment |
| Impounds | Tule River |
| Height | 156 ft (48 m)[1] |
| Length | 3,490 ft (1,060 m)[1] |
| Elevation at crest | 652.5 ft (198.9 m)[1] |
| Dam volume | 5,560,000 cu yd (4,250,000 m3)[1] |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Success |
| Total capacity | 82,300 acre⋅ft (101,500,000 m3)[1] |
| Catchment area | 393 sq mi (1,020 km2)[1] |
| Surface area | 2,450 acres (990 ha)[1] |
Schafer Dam—formerlySuccess Dam, prior to 2019—is a dam across theTule River inTulare County, California, United States. Serving mainly for flood control and irrigation, the dam is an earthen embankment structure 156 feet (48 m) high and 3,490 feet (1,060 m) long. The dam lies about 5 miles (8.0 km) east ofPorterville and impoundsLake Success, with a built-capacity of 82,300 acre-feet (0.1015 km3),[1] and an operational capacity of 28,800 acre-feet (0.0355 km3) due to dam stability concerns.
The dam was initially authorized by theFlood Control Act of 1944 as part of an extensive system of dams and levees to provide flood protection in theTulare Lake basin of the southernSan Joaquin Valley.[2] TheU.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began construction of Success Dam in 1958 and finished in 1961, with the official dedication on May 18, 1962.[3]
The Corps of Engineers found in 1999 that the alluvial deposits that form the foundations of the dam were unstable and that the dam would be at a high risk of failure in the event of an earthquake. In 2006, new regulations were passed that limited long-term water storage in the reservoir to 28,800 acre-feet (0.0355 km3), 35% of capacity.[4] A proposed $500 million project would increase the thickness of the dam by 350 feet (110 m) so that it could better withstand a quake in the region.[5]
In August 2019, the 116th Congress of the United States enacted PL-116-41 which said (in part) thatthe Success Dam in Tulare County, California, shall hereafter be known and designated as the‘‘Richard L. Schafer Dam’’.[6]
In January 2025, the dam received national attention afterPresident Trump signed orders to release significantly more water from several Federal dams to put more water inLos Angeles Basin water reservoirs, following the destructiveLos Angeles wildfires earlier that month. According to theLos Angeles Times, "it was not clear where federal officials intended to send the water that was being released from the dams." Outflows from the dam discharge into the Tulare Lake bed almost 200 miles (320 km) north of Los Angeles, and there is no infrastructure to deliver Tule River water to Southern California.[7]