Perkins Canal Project Threatens 92 Wells, Farm Communities Across Logan County Region

Ninety-two wells supplying water to Sterling, Ovid, and Julesburg face potential loss if Nebraska's Perkins Canal project moves forward, a development that agriculture advocates say would hollow out the economic backbone of communities across the Logan County region.

The canal project, if constructed, could intercept groundwater that currently feeds thousands of acre-feet of water supporting farms throughout the area. Those farms anchor not just the land itself but the financial and civic institutions built around them: banks that carry agricultural loans, schools funded by property taxes tied to productive farmland, and rural households whose livelihoods depend on reliable water access.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is accepting public comments on the project through April 6, giving affected communities a narrow window to register opposition or concerns before the review process advances. The comment period represents a critical pressure point for residents, farmers, and local officials who want the project's downstream consequences for Colorado water users formally documented in the federal record.

At least one local candidate has stepped forward to urge coordinated action, framing the canal as a direct threat to the agricultural communities that define the region's identity and tax base. The candidate's call to action reflects broader anxiety about what drying up 92 wells would mean not just for individual farm operations but for the interlocking institutions those operations sustain.

Sterling, Ovid, and Julesburg sit within a landscape where water is not an abstraction; it is the precondition for everything else. Losing well access at the scale the Perkins Canal project could produce would force difficult reckonings for landowners and local governments alike.

With the April 6 comment deadline approaching, affected property owners and community members can submit written comments to the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure the Logan County region's specific concerns are part of the official federal review.