Milford Lake is the largest man-made lake in Kansas with 15700acre of water. Over 33000acre of land resources are managed for quality recreational experiences as well as for protection of the project’s natural and cultural resources. Approximately 70% of the land resources are available for public hunting.Project historyThe construction of Milford Lake was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1954 to provide flood control, water supply, water quality, navigation, and recreation/wildlife. Construction of the Milford Dam began July 13, 1962 at mile 8.3 of the Republican River, as a project owned and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The dam consists of a rolled earth fill embankment of 15 million cubic yards, with an uncontrolled spillway on the right bank. (The term "uncontrolled" refers to the lack of spillway gates such as those at Tuttle Creek Lake in Manhattan, Kansas.) Normal water storage impounds 388,000 acre-feet.Many contractors were involved with the project during the construction phase. Contractors built new roads and altered existing roadways, and relocated railroad facilities, city owned facilities in Wakefield and Milford, electrical, telephone, and gas lines, and cemeteries. They also built recreation areas and cleared structures from within the reservoir flood pool. The towns of Alida and Broughton ceased to exist, with houses either moved to other locations, razed, burned, or buried.
