Photo: James, Karla
LINCOLN, Nebraska -- A pair of water project bills are now law establishing a new lake between Omaha and Lincoln, and a canal for South Platte River water from Colorado into Nebraska.
"This is not about getting more water for the state of Nebraska. This is merely about make sure we can actually have legal title-legal claim--to the water that we are already getting," says Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts during a signing ceremony today in Lincoln.
He says the South Platte Canal preserves Nebraska water rights, which is especially important after a more than year-long drought across the state.
"We can only enforce our rights if we have this canal--so we will build this canal," Ricketts says.
The bills signed Monday allocate more than $50 million for planning the canal.
The $500 million dollar project in Western and Southwest Nebraska could take a decade to complete.
The new laws also lay out the framework for a 4,000 acre lake to be dug between Nebraska's largest cities--it's exact location hasn't been determined.