Augusta is part of  the Douglass Reservoir Conceptual Planning Study exploring future options for a source of water to serve growing communities in southern Butler County.
Conclusions of the water supply project indicate the site near the junction the Little Walnut River and Hickory Creek, southeast of Augusta, is suitable for design of a water storage reservoir.
A recent staff memo to the Augusta City Council noted there are no “fatal flaws” in the planning. but a number of challenges and issues have to be addressed.
Other partners in the feasibility study are Douglass, Rose Hill, and Andover.
The conceptual study evaluated different aspects of the project at the feasibility  design level, including:  water need forecast, potential reservoir yield, dam and reservoir conceptional design and cost estimates, as well as environmental and permitting issues.
Augusta and other Butler County communities became interested in water supplies for industry and community during drought years in the 1950s.
Campaigning by city and county leaders had the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers identified three potential water supply/flood control structures. They were to be situated near El Dorado, Towanda, and Douglass.
The El Dorado Reservoir was the only one to be built.
The Towanda project was scraped in the 1980s due to brackish water supply concerns of the Corps. The Douglass project went into the project files for years and has recently re-emerged as officials consider the future and the availability of public water.
Here are some conclusions of the most recent study:

• The site is suitable…based on water availability, geology, and geotechnical conditions…Up to 435,000 acreage-feet of storage could be developed at the Douglass  dam site. However, based on water availability from the Little Walnut River and Hickory Creek, the feasible storage size will be less.

• Average daily projected water demand of the project participants by 2040 is estimated on the order of 7.3 million gallons daily, and by 2070 is estimated to be on the order of 9.8 mgd,

• Previous investigations found that no other dependable source of water has been identified to provide the projected water demand for the project participants. In some cases, existing water supply availability and/or cost to some study participants may significantly changed in the next few years.

• Reservoir models were developed based on simulated reservoir performance for historical hydrologic conditions from 1921 to 2006. The reservoir sizes ranged from 75,000 ac-ft  to 150,000 ac-ft to 225,000 ac-ft and included a minimum pool of 41,000 ac-ft to represent a recreation pool. The 75,000 ac-ft reservoir could meet 95.8 percent of the need. At 150,000, there would be enough water to meet 98/6 percent of the need. The 225,000 ac-ft structure would meet water demands for 99.9 percent of the time at current calculations.

The bottom line at this time is that more investigations and steps  will be needed to keep the project “moving forward.”