Present Day Function
The lake currently supports an artificial recreational beach and is stocked periodically with rainbow trout, largemouth bass, redear sunfish, bluegill, and catfish. The park is open to all visitors from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and receives around 200,000 visitors a year.
The lake is constantly becoming shallower due to sediment runoff and must be periodically dredged. Today it is approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) at its deepest point; previously it was 80 feet (24 m) deep.
Since the dam crosses the Hayward fault, there is a possibility of dam failure in the event of an earthquake, which would cause serious flooding in parts of Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville. However, due to the additional fill placed between the dam and Highway 24, any hydraulic failure is now unlikely.
During the 1991 Oakland firestorm, water-equipped helicopters refilled at Lake Temescal, largely draining it.
Read more about this topic: Lake Temescal
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