The Flood Control Act of 1938 authorized construction of Tuttle Creek Reservoir, and funds for initial planning were authorized in 1944. The construction of Tuttle Creek Dam as a Corps of Engineers project was given particular impetus by the Great Flood of 1951, which inundated downtown Manhattan, Topeka, and the West Bottoms of Kansas City. Total losses in the Kansas cities and farmland exceeded $725,000,000. Nevertheless, the project met with heavy opposition from landowners whose land faced flooding by the lake's construction. Residents of the Blue Valley organized opposition under the phrase "Let's quit this dam foolishness," and the campaign led to victory for Democrat Howard Shultz Miller in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1952. Although the opposition was heated, it failed to ultimately stop the dam.