In the rolling hills south of Roscoe, Tyler Most farms the same ground his family has worked for six generations.
Irrigated and dryland corn grow high in good years, as do soybeans, wheat, barley, oats, popcorn and sunflowers, what Most calls “just easy-growing, good stuff.â€
The unplowed tallgrass prairie where Most moves his cattle around in short-interval, high-intensity grazing is also a flourishing habitat for wildlife, from prairie chickens to mule deer, even an endangered species of beetle.
But as the 38-year-old works to continue his family’s farming legacy and transition into more regenerative practices to set the foundation for the next generation, Most said Nebraska’s pursuit to enforce the provisions of a century-old agreement with Colorado could put that future in jeopardy.
As part of the 1923 South Platte Compact, Colorado agreed to allow 120 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water to pass into Nebraska during irrigation season, and 500 cfs to flow into the Cornhusker state during the non-irrigation season.
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In order to secure the water appropriation from the South Platte River, however, Nebraska is required to build a canal from Sedgwick County, Colorado, where a project to divert water from the river was started and abandoned in the 1890s.
Nebraska has never taken steps to enforce the terms of the compact in the century since it went into effect, at least until 2022, when then-Gov. Pete Ricketts announced the Perkins County Canal as a priority for the state.
The state’s Department of Natural Resources and the Twin Platte Natural Resources District did work with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1982 to come up with a proposed route for the canal that would move water using gravity and without costly pumps.
The bureau’s proposal originates near Ovid, Colorado, where the Perkins County Canal was started and abandoned nearly 130 years ago. The proposed canal runs across Keith County just south of Interstate 80, where it would fill a half dozen or so proposed surface water reservoirs along the way.
One of the largest reservoirs envisioned as part of the proposed canal system would collect water from the South Platte River behind a 100-foot dam on what’s known locally as the Roscoe Draw, eventually filling lowlands with water — including much of Most’s farmstead.
“It would drown out my house, my dad’s house, the neighbor’s house, and take a lot of land out of production,†Most said. “I’m trying to imagine all of that under water.â€
At least, that’s what the 40-year-old report proposed. Parts of that report were included in a feasibility study submitted to the Legislature by the Department of Natural Resources last year after the passage of LB1015, which created the Perkins County Canal Project Act.
Currently, there is no route designated for the proposed canal, a Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman said, but the area in southern Keith County, where nearly all of the South Platte River’s length runs in Nebraska, remains the “working corridor at this time.â€
The next phase of the project, an engineering study expected to get underway this summer as state lawmakers and agency officials have thrown their support behind moving ahead, will help determine the final route later this year.
Gov. Jim Pillen, who signaled his support of the project earlier this year, proposed increasing the annual appropriation for the project from $54.5 million to $62.8 million over the next biennium.
A bill (LB819) introduced by Speaker John Arch on behalf of the governor would also transfer $574.5 million from the state’s cash reserve fund into a fund created for the Perkins County Canal project last year to see the project through.
“This would give the department the $628 million identified in the independent report to complete the canal and reservoir system,†Department of Natural Resources Director Tom Riley told the Legislature's Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.
Most, who said he is generally supportive of Nebraska exercising its right to water on the South Platte River, said he and others have been left searching for answers about the project’s status, as well as where it might ultimately be located.
As the project has gathered steam over the last year, Most said he has fielded between 70 and 80 calls from area landowners asking what he knows about the project. Often, the response is along the lines of “as much as you do,†he said.
An acquaintance from northeast Colorado told Most landowners there have been getting together regularly with government officials to share updates on the project with those who could potentially be affected, he said.
He questions why that hasn’t happened in Keith County.
“A lot of us feel left in the dark,†he said. “It’s hard to get any real information, and I feel like in this day and age, it should not be very hard to get a message out if you want to.â€
Kent Miller, general manager of Twin Platte NRD who has advocated for the state to enforce the agreement hammered out in the South Platte Compact for four decades, said he’s also unsure of what the exact route the canal might take at this time.
Miller added he wasn’t sure the route suggested in the 1982 report — which was included as part of what he described as a “quick and dirty†feasibility study requested by state lawmakers last year as they considered a larger appropriation — was even the best route.
But, he said it’s not unusual for there to be some uncertainty at this stage of the process, particularly on a project of this scope and complexity that will likely take years to develop. Once a consulting engineer is hired, several routes for the canal or locations of reservoirs could be proposed.
“This is just one of many options that will be considered by DNR in the final design,†Miller said. “And there will be public information meetings this fall so that those landowners can see different options and the state can get their inputs.â€
Miller has long been one of the project’s biggest boosters — he told the Appropriations Committee last week that the South Platte Compact was Nebraska’s only protection against Colorado seizing every ounce of water on the river. Still, he said he understands the frustration of not knowing whose life and livelihoods may be affected by the canal’s location.
“They should be asking those questions,†Miller said. “I would be, too.â€
Most said he hopes the consulting engineer hired by the Department of Natural Resources will take a fresh look at the project, consider alternatives that weren’t included or available in previous studies, and not be boxed in by decades-old thinking.
He said he’s also waiting for answers about how the additional 350,000 acre-feet of water that the Department of Natural Resources says could be stored in Nebraska once water is diverted from the South Platte River would be used.
But he’s also thinking about what the future means for him and his family if the Roscoe Draw Reservoir, as proposed in the 1982 report, was built. Studying the map, as much as one-half of Most’s farm could be swallowed up by the proposed reservoir, wiping out efforts to leave the land better off for the next generation.
“To me, farming is about making the product and the land better — that’s the long-term goal,†he said. “Taking half your farm out of production for this feels a little like a slap in the face.â€