Nebraska begins buying Colorado land for Perkins County Canal

The state of Nebraska has begun buying land in Colorado for the Perkins County Canal project.

The proposed Perkins County Canal is designed to bring water from the South Platte River in Colorado into Nebraska.

A century-old interstate agreement allows Nebraska to take the water in the non-irrigation season, from October 15 to April 1, but only if it builds the canal.

Nebraska Public Media News has learned that on December 29th, Ray Hendrix of Holyoke, Colorado sold just under 90 acres of land east of Julesburg, Colorado to the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources for just under $90,000. Hendrix’s son Loren Hendrix said that the land sale is in connection with the Perkins County Canal project.

Nebraska has set aside $628 million for the canal project, which is still being designed, and officials said last month they planned to begin land purchases this year. Colorado officials have acknowledge Nebraska’s right to build the canal, but have insisted the state will have to comply strictly with the terms of the interstate compact, without elaborating on what that means.

By Fred Knapp