Ibach hears update on PC Canal project

On Thursday, April 6, Director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources  (NDNR) Tom Riley presented an updated overview and status of the Perkins County Canal project to members of the Appropriations Committee. Also invited to attend was Dist. 44 Senator Teresa Ibach.
Among items reported on by Riley was the hiring of engineers, which are being led by Omaha’s HDR Inc., who will conduct the engineering study for the project.
“As the Senator who represents the area where the canal is located, I was invited to participate,” Ibach said. “We were informed that engineers have been hired to conduct the mechanical approach to the project, and that conversations with Colorado about the project are continuing.”
Ibach stated she looks forward to touring the area where the project will potentially be located in the near future with Riley and Governor Jim Pillen.
“The tour will allow us to get an up close view of what will be built,” Ibach said. “I’m confident that a route for the canal will be identified later this year, and pending approval of this project in our State’s budget.”
Ibach said she is hopeful that the work will allow Nebraska to claim the water it was promised.
Canal facts
The canal project, which would allow Nebraska to take advantage of accessing more water from Colorado, has its parameters laid out in a compact called the South Platte River Compact, written nearly a century ago.
Nebraska lawmakers passed LB 1012 in 2022 to lay out the framework for the canal, which would allow Nebraska to acquire 500 cubic feet per second of South Platte River water for irrigation use between Oct. 15 and April 1.
The canal would start someplace in northeast Colorado and continue into western Nebraska. However, the exact location has not been determined, and will be the task of the newly hired engineers, Ibach said.
According to a fact sheet on the canal from the NDNR, Colorado has passed legislation, and is pursuing multiple projects, to capture and use water reserved for Nebraska that is laid out in the South Platte River Compact. Nebraska can stop this from happening only if it builds the canal.
According to the NDNR, Colorado’s state engineer recently denied Nebraska’s request for water flow, with administration explaining “because Nebraska has not constructed the Perkins County Canal, there is no basis for Colorado to administer junior water appropriations in the Lower Section of the South Platte River.”
The Department is currently seeking options on property owned by approximately 30 landowners along the canal route in Colorado, and is continuing to coordinate with downstream water users. The most recent costs estimate for the project will range from $567-$628 million, according to NDNR.