COFFEY COUNTY (KSNT) – Researchers and engineers are looking for a solution to save a large reservoir in northeast Kansas that serves local communities and the state’s only nuclear power plant.
John Redmond Reservoir shares a similar problem with all other reservoirs in the Sunflower State: it is slowly filling up with sediment. All reservoirs in Kansas are constantly getting an influx of mud from local creeks and streams, reducing the amount of water they can hold and their effectiveness when it comes to supplying water to urban areas and other operations, according to the Kansas Water Office.
John Redmond Reservoir stands out from other reservoirs as it not only helps perform flood control duties for the local area, but it also serves Evergy’s Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station. Now, researchers with the University of Kansas, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and KWO have released a new report detailing the mud issues at the reservoir and a possible solution to fix the problem, extending the lifespan of the reservoir and continued operations at Wolf Creek.
What is John Redmond Reservoir?
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed John Redmond Reservoir in 1963 and it falls under the management of the USACE‘s Tulsa District. Located in Coffey County just west of New Strawn, the reservoir helps with flood control and water supply storage for local communities similar to other reservoirs across Kansas.
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The reservoir also has recreational opportunities for locals to enjoy such as birdwatching, fishing and camping, according to the USACE. The entire reservoir consists of 9,400 acres.
Kristin Kaipust with the KWO said the reservoir has prevented around $1.65 billion in estimated flood damages in the years after its installation. It also provides critical drought water supply security for neighboring communities.
Reservoir status today
The new white paper study outlines the issue John Redmond Reservoir is facing, stating that sediment buildup in the water has reduced its storage capacity by 44% as of 2025. The USACE monitors the situation, keeping track of how much mud is filling up the reservoir each year.
“Sedimentation or silting in, is a challenge with reservoirs, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District continues working with the Kansas Water Office to assess the feasibility of proposed actions to address the issue,” said Brannen Parrish with the Tulsa District of the USACE.
Parrish said the reservoir is split between different pools that denote different water elevation levels in the lake. These include the inactive, conservation and flood pools which fulfill different purposes at the reservoir.
- Inactive pool – water at the lowest level of the reservoir that is inaccessible. Below lake elevations of 1026 feet, the water is accessible only through exceptional means like external pumps. Elevation of 1010-1026 feet.
- Conservation pool – water being conserved for activities like recreation and water control. Elevation of 1026-1041.
- Flood pool – the land area next to the reservoir which stores excess rainfall and runoff until downstream river capacity is restored and the water can be released. Elevation of 1041-1068.
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Parrish said that, between 1963 and 2023, around 77,160 acre feet of sediment entered the reservoir. He also said that, as sediment enters the reservoir, it settles not just at the bottom of the lake, but also along the shore.
“From 1963 to the most recent survey in 2023, nearly all of the inactive pool at John Redmond Reservoir has been lost to sedimentation, about 11,900 acre feet in the inactive pool,” Parrish said.
A muddy problem
Contractors with the State of Kansas performed a large-scale dredging operation at the reservoir in 2016, removing 3,000,000 cubic yards of sediment from the reservoir. The Kansas Legislature gave the green light to the project when it approved of a bond issuance at $20 million to fund the dredging operations.
“This project represented the first of its kind in the nation, with a non-federal entity dredging sediment from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (USACE) reservoir for the purpose of ensuring water supply storage,” Kaipust said. “Disposal of dredged materials required the temporary alteration of one site on federal land and four on privately-owned land below the dam to establish confined disposal facilities (CDFs) for disposal of dredged material where this material was dewatered and sites reclaimed to the desired land use of the individual land owners.”
Despite these efforts, mud continues to build up in the water, potentially impacting continued operations at Wolf Creek, according to the white paper study. Evergy’s Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station currently supplies more than 20% of Kansas’ electricity and relies, in part, on the nearby reservoir.
“Without intentional, significant, sustained sediment removal, John Redmond will lose its ability to store water. This jeopardizes the continued function of Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant, which supplies its off-channel cooling water reservoir directly from John Redmond.”
White paper study excerpt
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The KWO estimates that sediment buildup could eventually result in insufficient yield to support current water supply contracts for Wolf Creek and downstream communities by the year 2045, according to the white paper study. Despite the challenges the reservoir is facing today, it remains in use by nearby entities such as Wolf Creek.
“John Redmond Reservoir is a steady, reliable source of water to keep Coffey County Lake full, which helps support Wolf Creek’s operations,” said Matt Lucht with Evergy. “We work closely with the Kansas Water Office to ensure long‑term reservoir storage remains available.”
John Redmond Reservoir isn’t alone in facing sediment problems. Engineers are also working to use an innovative water injection dredging method at Tuttle Creek Lake in central Kansas to help reverse the buildup of sediment in the water.
New solution?
The authors of the white paper study put forward the potential solution of using hydrosuction as a low-cost answer to the situation. This hydrosuction method would use the head difference between the upstream reservoir and downstream channel to create a suction effect to transport discharge sediment out of the reservoir.
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Highlights of the hydrosuction method include not having to acquire nearby land for sediment storage or transportation of the sediment slurry, saving on project costs, according to the study. This would save around 50% of the total dredging cost.
Researchers of the study said Kansas lawmakers approved of $1.5 million in the 2026 state budget for hydrosuction sediment removal at John Redmond Reservoir. They go on to state this project could help provide further solutions in the future for continuously removing sediment from other reservoirs that are similar to John Redmond.
“John Redmond Reservoir offers a uniquely positioned case for investigating how energy-efficient hydrosuction technology helps improve storage of water within the reservoir (energy for water) and how the additional water can increase energy production by the nuclear power plant (water for energy).”
White paper study excerpt
Kaipust said the KWO is currently working with the USACE on a future hydrosuction project at John Redmond Reservoir. She said the reservoir has a unique infrastructure that is suited for a potential hydrosuction sediment removal system that discharges sediment through a pipe downstream to the Neosho River.
“The proposed demonstration will include construction of a hydrosuction unit and demonstration of its use under various conditions at John Redmond Reservoir,” Kaipust said. “Monitoring and evaluation of the operational and environmental results will be used to determine the viability of using hydrosuction as a permanent solution for addressing sedimentation at John Redmond Reservoir and other reservoirs in Kansas.”
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Kaipust said the KWO has sent in requests through the Water Resources Development Act process with Congress and is looking for federal support for the project. The KWO is also looking to implement strategies and partnerships for regional management or reservoir sediment in other states in the Midwest.
You can learn more about John Redmond Reservoir by clicking here. To read the white paper study, click here.
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