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Colorado, Nebraska jostle over water rights amid drought

Don Schneider drives a tractor to plant alfalfa and oats on his property Friday, April 29, 2022, in Ovid, Colo. Schneider and his neighbors take surplus South Platte water in winter to augment the wells they use to irrigate their crops in summer. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson) Don Schneider monitors as his son Bradon works a corn planter Friday, April 29, in Ovid, Colo. They pump water from a shallow aquifer for irrigation, and uses supply from the South Platte River to replenish the wells. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson) Steve Hanson poses for a photo in front of one of his water pumping stations Saturday, April 30, 2022, in Elsie, Neb. He raises beef cattle and grows corn, all of his irrigation water coming from the Ogallala Aquifer. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson) Don Schneider stands in front of an augmentation pond on his property Friday, April 29, 2022, in Ovid, Colo. He pumps water from a shallow aquifer for irrigation, and uses supply from the South Platte River to replenish the wells. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson) The South Platte River flows on Thursday, April 28, 2022, in Fort Morgan, Colo. As climate change-fueled megadrought edges eastward, Nebraska wants to divert water in Colorado by invoking an obscure, 99-year-old compact between the states that allows Nebraska to seize Colorado land along the South Platte River to build a canal. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)