KINGSTON, Mo. (AP) — A federal grant has given a big boost to long-discussed plans to build a new lake in northwest Missouri.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service gave $1.3 million Thursday to help build the Little Otter Creek Reservoir in Caldwell County.

The 345-acre lake will draw from a watershed south of U.S. Highway 36 and will be about two miles east of Hamilton It will provide drinking water and recreation opportunities for the region.

The St. Joseph News-Press reports planning for the lake began in 2000. Caldwell County residents approved a sales tax to pay for the lake’s construction more than a decade ago. The county and its partners have accumulated $5.45 million, before the federal grant, to help build the lake.