US EditionColorado Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Reject Nebraska's South Platte River Lawsuit
Colorado argues Nebraska's lawsuit is premature and urges continued negotiations on water use under the 1923 compact amid Nebraska's $628 million canal project plans.
- On this past Wednesday, Nebraska's state leadership sued Colorado at the U.S. Supreme Court, alleging Colorado breached the 1923 South Platte River Compact by diverting up to 1.3 million acre-feet, Colorado argued the case is on a hunch.
- Nebraska leaders resurrected the Perkins County Canal plans in 2022 after Colorado outlined plans to use and store more South Platte water, and lawmakers allocated $628.
- Colorado's response brief told the justices Nebraska asked them to weigh in `on a hunch`, saying Nebraska lacks finalized plans and hasn't started eminent domain steps it seeks approval for.
- The U.S. Supreme Court must decide by July whether to accept the case, and if it does, would appoint a special master to oversee discovery; Colorado urged the Court to decline review and return the dispute to state talks.
- Technical compact clauses — a 500 cfs winter right tied to finishing the Perkins County Canal and a 120 cfs curtailment trigger — shape long-term stakes, as the South Platte supplies water to more than 85% of Colorado's population.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Colorado tells US Supreme Court that Nebraska can’t make it supply more South Platte water
Colorado told the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday that the South Platte River Compact offers no room to make it curtail Front Range surface water or groundwater usage for Nebraska's use.
The Fort Morgan Times
Colorado asks Supreme Court to reject Nebraska’s South Platte River lawsuit, calling it ‘premature and unfounded’
Colorado’s top leaders on Wednesday were not short on adjectives to describe Nebraska’s petition asking the country’s highest court to weigh in on a long-simmering water dispute between the states. Attorney General Phil Weiser called the Cornhusker State’s filing over the South Platte River Compact “baseless” during a news conference announcing Colorado’s legal response. The canal Nebraska wants to build here, he said, is an “unserious boondoggl…
Colorado to U.S. Supreme Court: Nebraska is working "on a hunch" over disputed South Platte River
Colorado told the U.S. Supreme Court in a brief Wednesday that Nebraska’s suit seeking confirmation of its water rights in Colorado is asking justices to “weigh in on a hunch,” and that Nebraska “hasn’t done its homework”on permitting and legal work before debating the fate of precious South Platte River water. Colorado’s response brief to Nebraska’s U.S. Supreme Court filing in July chides Nebraska for being late to “confront the hard questio…
Release: #Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser Urge U.S. Supreme Court to Reject #Nebraska Case on #SouthPlatteRiver
Perkins canal drawing showing the Colorado portion, courtesy Nebraska Department of Natural Resources. Here’s the release from Governor Polis’ office (Lawrence Pacheco and Shelby Wieman): October 15, 2025 Governor Jared Polis and Attorney General Phil Weiser today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a case about the South Platte River Compact and Nebraska’s efforts to build the Perkins County Canal. Colorado is complying with its obligations…
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