Colorado pushes back against Ricketts’ water claims

Colorado officers are pushing again towards Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts’ declare that Colorado is violating an settlement to provide South Platte River water to Nebraska.

Earlier this week in Ogallala, Gov. Ricketts mentioned Colorado isn’t fulfilling its obligation below an interstate compact to ship not less than 120 cubic toes per second of water to Nebraska. However Conor Cahill, a spokesperson for Gov. Jared Polis, mentioned Ricketts’ declare is mistaken about Colorado’s obligation.

In an interview Thursday with Nebraska Public Media Information, Colorado State Engineer Kevin Rein talked about what the South Platte River Compact, signed by each states in 1923, requires Colorado to do.

“When the circulate drops beneath 120 cubic toes per second on the state line, Colorado is obligated to curtail water rights…however as soon as we’ve carried out that, then we’re in compliance, and there’s no assure that the circulate then has to rebound again to 120 cfs or larger,” Rein mentioned.

Rein specified that the compact requires these curtailments be for customers whose water rights are later than June 14, 1897, and that they apply to customers in Colorado District 64, which stretches from that state’s Morgan-Washington County line to the state border with Nebraska.

Rein mentioned Colorado has been curbing farmers’ skill to make use of water from the South Platte for a number of months.

Ricketts says the dearth of water coming throughout the state line is an argument to construct a canal, allowed below the compact, to divert water from Colorado within the non-irrigation season and produce it to Nebraska, the place it could possibly be saved in reservoirs and used when wanted.