Long-awaited relief

For many Missouri residents, turning on the faucet and filling a glass of water is never a cause for concern. As long as the bill is paid, water flows each time. Yet for residents of Caldwell County, Mo., securing access to drinking water can be a challenge, even in 2024. 

After more than 30 years of planning and persistence, Caldwell County will finally have a solution to its drinking water concerns—a 345-acre reservoir that will provide 1.24 million gallons each day. 

Located 3.5 miles east of Hamilton, Mo., the reservoir sits in the middle of agricultural land and will be filled by the construction of an earthen dam on Little Otter Creek. But don’t let the name “little” fool you. The dam will be approximately 72 feet tall and 2,400 feet long, with a pool approximately 60 feet at its deepest point. 

For Caldwell County’s 8,933 residents, this massive wall of dirt is a long-awaited answer to their prayers. Currently, their drinking water may come from various and sometimes limited sources. 

“Some of the townships have reservoirs. Some have wells. And there are pipelines from Smithville Lake that come from far away into the county,” said Rex Hibler, Western District Commissioner for Caldwell County. 

Emily Beck, MFA conservation specialist and Caldwell County resident, is all too familiar with the area’s water shortage. “After recently transitioning from well water to rural water when we purchased our farm, I was surprised to learn that our water supply comes from Smithville Lake,” she said, estimating the water must travel about 50 miles to her property. 

Smithville Lake is another reservoir located southwest in nearby Clay County. But for some residents, even this piped-in water from miles away is still unavailable. 

“Just west of Kingston, we’ve got people who can’t get water because three water districts are trying to figure out whose territory it belongs to,” said Dale Akey, presiding commissioner for Caldwell County. 

Such struggles, however, are not new to the area. The Great Drought of 1988-89 made residents acutely aware they needed a solution to the lack of reliable drinking water. The first formal report for a new water supply was written in 1989. In 1990, county officials met with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to discuss building a water supply system that would include flood-control measures. From there, in 1991, the Caldwell County Commission requested assistance through the NRCS’s Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Operations Program and, in 1992, applied for federal assistance for a lake project built with support from the NRCS. 

Yet, while it seemed like Caldwell County residents may see their dream come true, the reality would be a logistical nightmare with complex coordination between the county commission and numerous state and federal agencies. In addition to the NRCS, assistance would be needed from the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Department of Natural Resources, such as the DNR’s Dam Safety Council. 

Most importantly, building a dam to create a reservoir would require a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This federal regulatory agency oversees the planning, design and construction of water resources such as dams, and obtaining its stamp of approval would not be an easy task.

For its part in the project, as the local sponsoring organization, the Caldwell County Commission was responsible for acquiring all the land of the site area either by fee title or easements.

Dam delays

While the project had a strong start, the rest of the 1990s failed to see construction break ground. Finally, in 2000, county officials asked the NRCS to renew planning followed by a request in 2002 to design a multi-purpose reservoir in the Little Otter Creek Watershed, just south of Highway 36.

According to the NRCS, a reservoir was chosen as the best solution since groundwater sources in the county are anemic in terms of water yield and quality. The selected location outside of Hamilton could supply enough water to survive a significant drought and provide recreational and flood-control benefits. 

Finally, in 2003, the NRCS announced that construction could proceed after approval of the project’s Environmental Impact Statement, required when a proposed federal action will significantly impact the human environment. However, the project could not begin until funding was secured from the Caldwell County Commission. 

Luckily, support from residents was not difficult to secure. In 2002, a half-cent county sales tax was overwhelmingly passed to pay for the county’s portion of the construction. As of 2022, the sales tax has provided over $4 million to the project. Another financial source was the State of Missouri’s Multipurpose Water Resources Fund.

The NRCS funds just over half of the project, contributing 58.1% of construction costs and 100% of other engineering services such as construction administration and quality assurance through support from the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Operations Program. This federal program assists the NRCS in partnering with state and local governments on watershed projects.

Like other federally funded programs, the actual dollars aren’t always guaranteed. Appropriations were limited for the Watershed Program from 2004 to 2010. When funding became available again, the NRCS decided a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement was necessary to reaffirm its original analysis, and that was published in 2013. 

By this time, more than 20 years had passed since the first meeting of Caldwell County officials and the NRCS to launch the dam project. Monumental progress had been made, but not a single shovel of dirt had moved. 

Unfortunately, construction would stall for a few more years. There was a lack of funding for the Watershed Program from 2011 to 2016, with funding restoration starting again in 2017. 

Still, the Caldwell County Commission and its residents remained resolute to move forward, perhaps fueled by their growing frustration that despite the half-cent sales tax, which had been in effect for over a decade, there was still no new water supply. 

Then, in 2020, a year darkened by a global pandemic, a ray of sunlight emerged: A signed permit to build an earthen dam in Little Otter Creek from the Corps of Engineers in October 2020. 

It was the first water supply lake in Missouri the Corps had approved in over 25 years. 

With this permit, the NRCS and the Caldwell County Commission swiftly announced a construction contract of over $14.4 million to Phillips Hardy, Inc., of Boonville, Mo. A groundbreaking ceremony soon followed on March 19, 2021, attended by Gov. Mike Parson and First Lady Teresa Parson. 

While progress has been slower than anticipated, construction is well underway today, with more dirt added to the dam daily. Mike Holcer, civil engineering technician with the NRCS,  said the fall of 2025 is the estimated completion date for the Little Otter Creek project. He will then move on to the new Roy Blunt Reservoir, also known as the East Locust Creek Reservoir, in Sullivan County. The Corps of Engineers granted a permit to construct the dam for a future 2,000-acre lake earlier this year. The Roy Blunt Reservoir will be the largest reservoir the NRCS has ever helped construct.

Designed for the future

After decades of planning, it’s no surprise the design of the Little Otter Creek earthen dam design has been well thought out. 

“Every dam has its unique values,” said Holcer, who is overseeing the dam’s construction along with the sponsor’s engineer. For example, one of the original intentions of the dam was to control the flooding of Little Otter Creek. Ensuring that the dam itself would not overflow during periods of flooding became essential in planning the design. 

 “Where it’s considered a flood-control lake, from the water line to the auxiliary spillway is a pretty good difference in elevation,” Holcer said. “So, you can’t have anything built within the flood pool.” 

While the pool itself is 345 acres, it can swell to almost 432 acres before cresting the dam and flowing down the auxiliary, or emergency, spillway, which allows water to escape when the primary spillway isn’t enough for the excess water.

“You have to take that into account,” Holcer added. “You don’t want houses right on the water that could be flooded.” 

That 100 acres around the lake will also help filter the drainage of over 4,800 surrounding acres, including the town of Hamilton. 

“We’ll create a grass buffer around it to filter the nutrients and runoff,” Holcer explained. “That’s some of the extra ground around the lake that the county has purchased outside the main pool area.”

Much more than water

Once the reservoir is full, Caldwell County has big plans for the site. Developers envision an outdoor recreation destination with over 15 miles of trails, conservation lands, a welcome center, and RV and tent camping. Old, replaced bridges were even saved for future use on the trails. The area will include conservation features such as native landscapes and pollinator habitats. The reservoir will be stocked for fishing, and plans for this purpose started before construction of the dam began.

“During the clearing of the site, the MDC (Missouri Department of Conservation) came out and picked the brush piles they wanted, placed them in the bottom of the lake and anchored them down,” Hibler said. “We have close to 800 acres around the lake. We’re hoping it brings in a lot of outside people who like to fish.”

While construction is moving forward in a positive direction, some hurdles remain. The half-cent sales tax has no sunset, but it must be revised to include paying for lake maintenance and recreation amenities. 

“When it was passed, the tax was only for construction of the lake,” Hibler said. “When we get close to the end of the construction, we’re going to have to put it on the ballot again to revise that language to say that money can be used for maintenance, upkeep of the lake and recreation.” 

It will also be a while before residents can drink water sourced from the reservoir. 

“If it’s a drought like we’ve had the last three or four years, it’s going to take a while to fill it,” Holcer said. “Normally, you figure at least two years to fill.”

Once filled, the water will need to sit for up to five years for its quality to improve enough to be drawn from the reservoir and sent to the water treatment facility planned for the east side of the site. From the treatment facility, piping must also be installed to send the water throughout Caldwell County. 

While enjoying the lake’s benefits may still be a few years away, the Caldwell County Commission and area residents can finally see the reward of over three decades of patience and perseverance take shape, layer by layer.

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