Nebraska has filed a lawsuit against Colorado in the U.S. Supreme Court, accusing the western neighbor of violating a century-old compact over water use from the South Platte River and obstructing the planned construction of the Perkins County Canal.
The lawsuit, announced Wednesday by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Governor Jim Pillen, aims to enforce the 1923 South Platte River Compact — a legally binding agreement ratified by Congress in 1926 that governs how much water Colorado must allow to flow downstream to Nebraska.
“Nebraska must receive the water it is entitled to under the compact,” Hilgers said in a statement. “Water is the essential lifeblood of Nebraska’s economy, and it’s my goal to protect one of the state’s most important assets.”
The state’s lawsuit alleges Colorado is violating the compact in two key ways: by allowing unauthorized diversions of water during the irrigation season, and by interfering with Nebraska’s ability to construct the Perkins County Canal, a project first envisioned more than a century ago and revived under Pillen’s administration. Officials say the canal would help secure Nebraska’s future access to South Platte water.
“Today’s action comes only after we made every reasonable effort to resolve our differences with Colorado,” Pillen said. “Although we hoped to avoid a lawsuit, we are confident we remain on schedule to complete the Perkins County Canal by 2032.”
Because the case involves a dispute between states, it falls under the U.S. Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction. The court must now decide how to proceed, and Colorado is expected to respond to Nebraska’s claims.