The lake is formed by the Santiago Dam at the lake's north end, which was built between 1929 and 1931, and was originally called the Santiago Reservoir. The dam was built by the Irvine Company and the Serrano Water District (known as Serrano Irrigation District at the time); it is now owned by the Serrano Water District and the Irvine Ranch Water District and operated by Serrano Water District in conjunction with OC Parks.[citation needed] The lake provides drinking water to Villa Park and some parts of Orange, and provides supplementary irrigation water to neighboring ranches.
Stocked with largemouth bass, catfish, trout, and crappie, the lake fishery opened to the public in 1941. The land around the lake is owned by the Irvine Company, which leases the fishing, boating, and camping concessions to SWD Recreation Inc.[citation needed]
The lake had not been full from 2011 onward due to an extended drought, and its levels had been steadily decreasing for years. In September 2016, it was at 13 percent of capacity.[1] By August 2019, the lake was naturally refilled due to an unusual amount of rain. The amount of area covered in water went from 2,700 acre-feet to 15,715 acre-feet in a one-year span.[2]
In 2016, Irvine Lake was closed to the public due to financial disagreements between the Serrano Water District and the Irvine Company. In August 2019, the lake was successfully reopened to the public for shore fishing and other activities after OC Parks, the Serrano Water District, and the Irvine Company came to a one-year agreement to resume operations.[3]
