Schafer Dam
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox dam
| name = Success Dam
| name_official = Richard L. Schafer Dam
| image =
| image_size =
| image_caption =
| image_alt =
| location_map = California
| location_map_size =
| location_map_caption = Location of Success Dam in California
| coordinates = {{coord|36|03|38|N|118|55|09|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| country = United States
| location = Porterville, California
| status =
| construction_began = {{start date and age|1958}}
| opening = {{start date and age|1961}}
| demolished =
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| dam_type = Embankment
| dam_height = {{convert|156|ft|m|abbr=on}}{{cite web|url=http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/profile?s=SCC&type=dam|title=Success Dam (SCC)|publisher=California Department of Water Resources|work=California Data Exchange Center|date=|accessdate=2012-04-20|archive-date=November 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091110122333/http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/profile?s=SCC&type=dam|url-status=live}}
| dam_height_thalweg =
| dam_height_foundation=
| dam_length = {{convert|3490|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| dam_width_crest =
| dam_width_base =
| dam_volume = {{convert|5560000|yd3|m3|abbr=on}}
| dam_elevation_crest ={{convert|652.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| dam_crosses = Tule River
| spillway_count =
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| spillway_capacity =
| res_name = Lake Success
| res_capacity_total = {{convert|82300|acre feet|m3|abbr=on}}
| res_capacity_active =
| res_capacity_inactive=
| res_catchment = {{convert|393|mi2|km2|abbr=on}}
| res_surface = {{convert|2450|acre|ha|abbr=on}}
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}}
Schafer Dam—formerly Success Dam, prior to 2019—is a dam across the Tule River in Tulare County, California, United States. Serving mainly for flood control and irrigation, the dam is an earthen embankment structure {{convert|156|ft|m}} high and {{convert|3490|ft|m}} long. The dam lies about {{convert|5|mi|km}} east of Porterville and impounds Lake Success, with a built-capacity of {{convert|82300|acre feet|km3}}, and an operational capacity of {{convert|28800|acre feet|km3}} due to dam stability concerns.
History
The dam was initially authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944 as part of an extensive system of dams and levees to provide flood protection in the Tulare Lake basin of the southern San Joaquin Valley.{{cite web
|url=http://www.usbr.gov/mp/sccao/storage/docs/initial_alt_info/ta_iai_04_vol2_flood_dmg_ta.pdf
|title=Flood Damage Reduction Technical Appendix
|publisher=U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
|work=Upper San Joaquin Basin Storage Investigation: Initial Alternatives Information Report
|date=June 2005
|accessdate=2012-04-20
|archive-date=April 10, 2010
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410201303/http://www.usbr.gov/mp/sccao/storage/docs/initial_alt_info/ta_iai_04_vol2_flood_dmg_ta.pdf
|url-status=live
}} The U.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.{{cite web
|url=http://www.aegweb.org/files/public/Success_Dam.pdf
|title=Field Investigations for Design of a Grout Curtain at Success Dam for the United States Army Corps of Engineers
|author1=Friend, Edwin R. |author2=Bailey, B.J. |author3=Prochaska, Adam B. |publisher=Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists
|date=
|accessdate=2012-04-20}}
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 {{convert|28800|acre feet|km3}}, 35% of capacity.{{cite web
|url=http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/documentShow.cfm?Doc_ID=4781
|title=Lower Tule Irrigation District Tule River Intertie Project
|publisher=U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
|work=FONSI-09-73
|date=December 2009
|accessdate=2012-04-20
|archive-date=October 13, 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013101532/http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/documentShow.cfm?Doc_ID=4781
|url-status=live
}} A proposed $500 million project would increase the thickness of the dam by {{convert|350|ft|m}} so that it could better withstand a quake in the region.{{cite news
|author=Chandler, Jenna
|title=Corps settles on potential remedy for Success Dam
|url=http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/remedy-42153-success-dam.html
|work=Recorder Online
|date=2009-07-09
|accessdate=2012-04-20
|archive-date=February 1, 2013
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201032519/http://www.recorderonline.com/articles/remedy-42153-success-dam.html
|url-status=live
}}
In August 2019, the 116th Congress of the United States enacted PL-116-41 which said (in part) that the Success Dam in Tulare County, California, shall hereafter be known and designated as the ‘‘Richard L. Schafer Dam’’. {{Cite web | url=http://www.congress.gov/116/plaws/publ41/PLAW-116publ41.pdf | title=An Act to rename the Success Dam in Tulare County, California, as the Richard L. Schafer Dam | website=www.congress.gov | access-date=October 12, 2022 | archive-date=December 8, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208112222/https://www.congress.gov/116/plaws/publ41/PLAW-116publ41.pdf | url-status=live }}
In January 2025, the dam received national attention after President Trump signed orders to release significantly more water from several Federal dams to put more water in Los Angeles Basin water reservoirs, following the destructive Los Angeles wildfires earlier that month. According to the Los 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 {{convert|200|mi|km}} north of Los Angeles, and there is no infrastructure to deliver Tule River water to Southern California.{{Cite news |last=James |first=Ian |last2=Garrison |first2=Jessica |date=2025-01-31 |title=Acting on Trump's order, federal officials opened up two California dams |url=https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-01-31/trump-california-dams-opened-up |access-date=2025-02-01 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=February 1, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250201144122/https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-01-31/trump-california-dams-opened-up |url-status=live }}