LINCOLN — After an afternoon-long debate, state lawmakers advanced a controversial proposal to begin designing a $500-million canal to divert water from the South Platte River. Legislative Bill 1015, introduced on behalf of Gov. Pete Ricketts, advanced from the first round of debate on a 36-3 vote.The canal, which was originally proposed in the 1920s, has drawn questions from state senators regarding the sudden urgency of the project.

"This thing's one hundred years old. All of a sudden, we have this urgency," said State Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha.

Ricketts and the supporters of the canal project argue that unless it is built, Colorado will suck up the flows of the South Platte River that were granted to Nebraska in the water compact made in 1923. Supporters claim the canal is the only way to capture the off-season flows that Colorado will instead use for development projects on the Front Range.

The Appropriations Committee, which writes the state budget, has instead recommended about $53 million to do design work on the canal project. The chairman of the committee, State Sen. John Stinner, said it would be fiscally irresponsible to allocate $500 million to the canal without more study.

Lathrop questioned whether $500 million would even be enough to complete the project. Regardless of whether it is or not, he is also concerned about the possibility of the Legislature abandoning other state priorities in favor of the canal. Defendants of the bill, such as Sen. Mike Flood, argue the canal would signal to Colorado "how serious we are about water."

State Sen. Dan Hughes said, "If we don't build this canal, that water will go away. It will be lost to use forever." He also claimed that the Front Range is projected to double in population in the next 30 years.

The bill still has two rounds of debate to endure and will likely be brought up when the Legislature debates the state budget.

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