LAKE ISABELLA, Calif. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing to investigate the Kern Canyon Fault that runs beneath Auxiliary Dam in Lake Isabella in an effort to make the dams safer.

If the either of the dams failed it could be catastrophic, possibly leaving Bakersfield underwater.

But engineers and researchers are working hard to study the earth around the dam to make sure a failure never happens.

The Corps of Engineers are digging 900 foot long trenches and drilling more than 200 feet into the ground to study what the Kern Canyon Fault is capable of and what an earthquake could mean for the dam.

Project Geotechnical Engineer Henri Mulder said, "We’re looking for one, is the seismicity. If an earthquake does occur, is the level of ground movement significant enough to cause any permanent deformation to the dam, and cause a failure of the dam.”

When the dam was built in the 1950s it was believed the Kern Canyon Fault was inactive, but today, engineers know the fault is active, and that is not the only fault that could compromise the dam if an earthquake hit.

Mulder explains, "We’ve determined that the kern canyon fault is now in the active category. We’ve also discovered a couple of other seismic zones; the Scodie Mountain seismic zone and the Southern Sierra Nevada seismic zone. They’re now active too, and could potentially have a large enough earthquake cause some permanent deformation to the dam.”

Soil samples have ranged from loose to dense, but underneath Auxilary Dam they have found 120 feet of generally loose soil that could pose a problem, but in the trenches they have not discovered any signs of displacement in the dams foundation.

Project Geologists Tony Kittner said, "What we’re seeing here at this trench so far is, first 500 feet we’re seeing horizontal sedimentation patterns, we’re not seeing any offsets or anything that would indicate that the fault has displaced the foundation in this area and that’s good news.”

The Corps of Engineers said that by studying the fault and past displacements combined with determining how strong the soil is underneath the dam will allow engineers to make any design improvements or repairs to make the dams more structurally sound.