It took nearly 25 years of planning, design, reviews, and permitting, but the Little Otter Creek Lake has been approved to move forward to begin construction. This fall, the bidding process for the construction of the 344-acre multipurpose reservoir will begin.
Little Otter Creek Lake is to be located approximately 3 miles east of Hamilton on the south side of Highway 36. It is expected to provide a source of drinking water to communities in Caldwell County and surrounding areas, with the secondary purpose of providing flood control as well as recreational opportunities such as fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, biking, and the enjoyment of nature.
Caldwell County reports the construction plans have been completed and approved and the land for the lake has been acquired. The Little Otter Creek Lake will be the first water supply lake that the Corp of Engineers has approved in over twenty-five years in Missouri. The Federal government has committed over 16 million dollars and over 5.5 million from the state and local government toward this lake project. The local citizens of Caldwell County overwhelmingly passed a ½ cent county sales tax in 2004 for the lake and have contributed over 4 million dollars of local tax money to date. Most of those funds have been used for land acquisition, surveys, permitting, and other preliminary activities.
The current plan is to start land clearing of the pool area this winter. The construction of the dam and reservoir will begin next summer.
