{"id":42801,"date":"2022-01-10T15:47:25","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T22:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/nebraska-announces-500m-plan-to-claim-water-from-colorado\/"},"modified":"2022-01-10T22:47:25","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T22:47:25","slug":"nebraska-announces-500m-plan-to-claim-water-from-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/nebraska-announces-500m-plan-to-claim-water-from-colorado\/","title":{"rendered":"Nebraska announces $500M plan to claim water from Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Nebraska
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts announced a $500 million plan Monday to divert water out of Colorado under a 99-year-old compact between the states that allows Nebraska to seize access to Colorado land along the South Platte River and build canals. (Kenneth Ferriera\/Lincoln Journal Star via AP File)<\/span>Kenneth Ferriera<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LINCOLN, Neb. \u2013 Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts announced a $500 million plan Monday to divert water out of Colorado under a 99-year-old compact between the states that allows Nebraska to seize access to Colorado land along the South Platte River and build canals.<\/p>\n

Ricketts said Nebraska would invoke its rights under the South Platte River Compact amid concerns that Colorado\u2019s plans for the river could reduce water flows into his state by as much as 90%, taking a potentially huge toll on Nebraska\u2019s agricultural and power industries and likely affecting water supplies in the state\u2019s two largest cities, Omaha and Lincoln.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very concerned about what is going to happen with these projects,\u201d Ricketts, a Republican, said at a news conference. The reduced streamflows \u201care going to have a dramatic impact on our ability to feed the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The compact, approved in 1923, is a water-sharing agreement between the states that entitles Nebraska to 120 cubic feet per second from the river during the irrigation season between April 1 and Oct. 15, and 500 cubic feet per second during the non-irrigation season.<\/p>\n

Under the compact, Nebraska can build, maintain and operate canals within Colorado\u2019s borders that divert water from the South Platte River for use by Nebraska. It also gives Nebraska the power to buy land from Colorado landowners or gain access by invoking eminent domain. Nebraska\u2019s move is likely to trigger lawsuits between the states.<\/p>\n

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, a Republican, said Colorado has been issuing water usage permits that would cut into Nebraska\u2019s rightful share.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s critical that we be able to maintain these flows,\u201d Peterson said.<\/p>\n

Colorado released a report this month that identified 282 new projects within the South Platte River Basin on their side of the border, at a total cost of $9.87 billion.<\/p>\n

According to the report, the Colorado population living within the river basin is expected to grow 42% to 70% between 2015 and 2050, creating more demand for water. The report also warned that climate change may reduce streamflows and shift snowmelt patterns to earlier in the year, while creating greater agricultural demand for water.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for Colorado\u2019s Department of Natural Resources said he needed to consult with his state\u2019s engineer before issuing a response. An email to the office of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, wasn\u2019t immediately returned.<\/p>\n

The South Platte River flows northeast from Colorado\u2019s fast-growing Front Range and into Nebraska, where it merges with the North Platte River to form the Platte River before crossing the rest of the state.<\/p>\n

Ricketts declined to disclose where Nebraska would get the money to pay for the project, saying he\u2019ll release more details in his annual State of the State address to lawmakers on Thursday. He said Nebraska started work on a canal before World War I, but abandoned the project, part of which is still visible from Interstate 80 near Julesburg, Colorado.<\/p>\n

Peterson said the canal would feed into a reservoir that would store water for Nebraska\u2019s use. He said Nebraska officials grew increasingly concerned about Colorado\u2019s ability to deliver water as it deals with its own shortages.<\/p>\n

Nebraska and Colorado have been at odds several times in recent years, most notably with Colorado\u2019s early legalization of recreational marijuana. The move was criticized by governors and law enforcement officials in Nebraska, a conservative state that has steadfastly refused to allow the drug in any form<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last year, Ricketts railed <\/a>against Colorado Gov. Jared Polis\u2019 decision to sign a nonbinding proclamation that encouraged people to avoid meat one day a week, calling it \u201ca direct attack on our way of life” and signing a pro-meat declaration of his own.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Nebraska also announced plans to spend an estimated $200 million on water projects around the state. The plans include building a marina at Lake McConaughy State Recreational Area in western Nebraska, a visitor\u2019s lodge and other upgrades at Niobrara State Park and a 4,000-acre proposed lake to be located between Omaha and Lincoln.<\/p>\n

Speaker of the Legislature Mike Hilgers said the measure would help boost Nebraska’s economy, tourism and recreational offerings. The combined projects would generate an estimated $5.6 billion in economic activity during construction, according to legislative estimates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know our water resources are incredibly critical to this state,\u201d said Hilgers of Lincoln.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts announced a $500 million plan Monday to divert water out of Colorado under a 99-year-old compact between the states that allows Nebraska to seize access to Colorado land along the South Platte River and build canals. (Kenneth Ferriera\/Lincoln Journal Star via AP File)Kenneth Ferriera LINCOLN, Neb. \u2013 Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[120,295],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-42801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado","tag-water"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42801"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=42801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}