Kansas
is a relatively flat and dry state. Natural lakes in Kansas are therefore rare
and small. Lake Inman in McPherson County is the largest natural lake in
Kansas, with a surface area of about 160 acres, or one-fourth of a square mile.
Beginning
in the 1940s, the US federal government began taking an interest in building
reservoirs to mitigate the floods and droughts that are frequent in the Midwest
and West.
Construction
on the first US Army Corps
of Engineers reservoir in Kansas began in 1940 with Kanopolis Lake, with the most recent
one, Hillsdale Lake, completed in 1982. A total of 24 federally-funded reservoirs currently exist in Kansas.
Geographically, they are divided between the Missouri River Basin in northern
Kansas, and the Arkansas River Basin in southern Kansas.
Federal
reservoirs in eastern Kansas were built and are run by the US Army Corps of
Engineers, and they are intended largely for flood control. They are divided
between two US Army Corps of Engineers districts, the Kansas City District in
northern Kansas, and the Tulsa District in southern Kansas.
Federal
reservoirs in western Kansas were built and are run by the US Bureau of Reclamation, and
are intended largely for water conservation.
Many
of the federally-built Kansas reservoirs host Kansas State Parks, which are
operated by the Kansas
Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism.