BURLINGTON, Kan. (AP) — Dredging underway at an east-central Kansas reservoir is being touted as important in ensuring that area’s water supply to customers who include a nuclear power plant.

Gov. Sam Brownback on Tuesday directed the dredging of the John Redmond Reservoir near Burlington to begin. He calls it a significant step in preserving the water resource for future generations.

The Kansas Water Office says that since 1964, the reservoir has lost an estimated 42 percent of its conservation pool storage capacity, partly through sediment accumulation. That’s 80 percent more than the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers originally projected when it was first construction.

The water office’s director, Tracy Streeter, says the reservoir serves 19 communities, six industrial users and the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant.