Nebraska governor to assert eminent domain over Colorado in fight over water supply
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is planning to use eminent domain to take land in Colorado to build a canal off the South Platte River, claiming that a 99-year-old agreement allows him to do it.
The two states signed the South Platte River Compact in April 1923, granting each of them various rights in connection with the river. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Ricketts said that nearly 300 projects Colorado has announced over the years for the South Platte River Basin pose a threat to Nebraska’s water access.
“Nebraska’s producers — our farmers and ranchers — feed the world. And after our people, water is Nebraska’s greatest natural resource,” Ricketts said, adding that if Colorado goes through with all of its plans, “they will reduce the amount of water coming to us by 90% and that would have a dramatic impact on our state.”