Click the link to read the article on Nebraska Public Radio (Jackie Ourada):
The law professor said even if there is enough water to fill the canal system, Nebraska’s rights over that water aren’t clear.
“I don’t know who’s going to have rights to that water. The 1921 priority date is for administration within Colorado, but that 1921 priority date doesn’t necessarily carry into Nebraska,” Schutz said.
This is where Nebraska could get thrown into the deep end if the canal is approved, permitted, and constructed.
“There are a lot of senior users in the basin who would basically be able to take the water, so I’m not even sure legally if this canal would really be able to appropriate water out of the South Platte,” Schutz told the committee…
“The big issue is going to be the federal Endangered Species Act and the Colorado version of it, because a lot of the South Platte River is what’s known as ‘critical habitat’ under the Endangered Species Act for the whooping crane,” Craig said.