From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Sept. 6, 1972:

Dignitaries gathered today for a groundbreaking for the Clinton Lake project. Speaking to a crowd of more than 175 people at the luncheon program, Col. W.R. Needham, district engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, predicted that the new reservoir would “benefit untold millions of people during its anticipated useful life span of more than 100 years.” The lake, Needham said, would “regulate a drainage area of 367 miles” as well as offering recreational opportunities. “While much of our future construction timetable depends on adequate funding by Congress, hopefully closure of the dam and the start of the impoundment will begin in early 1976,” he added. Other dignitaries attending the event were Gov. Robert Docking, former Sen. Frank Carlson, and former U.S. Treasurer Georgia Neese Gray.