State engineers outline Perkins County Canal plan, timeline and local impacts

Nebraska Department of Natural Resources senior project engineer Matt Manning and HDR Engineering vice president John Engel presented Keith County commissioners with an update Tuesday on two interrelated water projects: repairs and upgrades to the Western Irrigation District canal and the larger Perkins County Canal effort intended to preserve Nebraska’s winterwater entitlements under the South Platte River Compact.

Manning said the Western work — canal cleanups, replacing several road crossings with box culverts and headworks improvements at the diversion — is at roughly 60 percent design and is expected to be phased over several years so irrigators retain water deliveries. “We’re cleaning up the canal, increasing its size, and replacing some road crossings,” Engel said, noting several locations will require geotechnical borings and coordination with the county highway superintendent before work begins.

The Perkins County Canal project, the presenters said, aims to secure Nebraska’s wintertime compact entitlement (established in the South Platte River Compact, adopted by the states in 1923 and enacted by Congress in 1926). Manning said permitting and an environmental review remain the pacing items: a final environmental impact statement and record of decision are not expected until the mid-to-late 2020s, with construction tentatively scheduled to begin in the 2029–2032 window.

“Until we complete the federal environmental review we can’t finalize a preferred route,” Manning said. He described a study area that crosses northeastern Colorado into Keith County and said the state is evaluating existing reservoirs and conveyance to limit new construction where possible. The presenters explained why Colorado water development and recharge projects in recent years have reduced flows at the state line in winter, increasing urgency for the canal from Nebraska’s perspective.

Commissioners asked about property impacts, reservoir sizes and timing. Engel said reservoir acreage estimates remain preliminary; alternatives in earlier federal studies suggested potential reservoir footprints ranging from modest to several thousand acres depending on routing and use of existing storage. Manning said additional field work — deep borings, piezometers and pump tests — is planned in the coming months and that state staff will invite county staff and affected landowners to follow-up briefings.

Manning and Engel emphasized the state’s continuing effort to coordinate with Colorado and stakeholders. “We want to minimize impacts to landowners and use existing storage where feasible,” Engel said, while also acknowledging substantial uncertainty until permitting identifies a preferred alignment. Manning encouraged residents with questions to attend a related public meeting scheduled March 21 and to contact the DNR project team for updates.

Commissioners thanked the presenters and asked that highway staff be involved where road crossings or borings are needed. Manning said the project team plans to coordinate local notifications and return to county leadership as design and permitting progress.

The presentation covered technical detail on diversion gates, river-return structures and phased box‑culvert replacements; it did not include any county action or commitment of county funds. The state team asked the commission to expect requests for access and to coordinate with the county highway superintendent on right-of-way borings and construction timing.