The Cadiz Water Project is an innovative public-private partnership among Southern California water agencies and desert agriculture business and water solutions provider Cadiz Inc.  It will create new water supply solutions that can serve up to 400,000 people a year by reducing a recurrent loss of groundwater to evaporation in California’s Mojave Desert, and will be governed by a Court-approved groundwater management plan overseen locally by San Bernardino County. There are three elements to the Cadiz Water Project:  The Southern Pipeline, the Northern Pipeline and the Cadiz Water Storage Facility.

The Southern Pipeline – To protect the sensitive desert environment, Cadiz will build a pipeline in an existing railroad right-of-way to connect the wellfield to the Metropolitan Water District’s Colorado River Aqueduct.  The Southern Pipeline has successfully completed a robust review by state and local public agencies in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the most aggressive environmental protection law in the nation,  Additional permitting and approvals are required before construction can begin.

The Northern Pipeline – Cadiz has purchased a surplus natural gas pipeline that can be repurposed to deliver water to Southern California by connecting to the State Water Project at Barstow, and can also provide a reliable source of safe, affordable water to many underserved Inland Empire communities along the pipeline’s route.  Cadiz is currently seeking federal approval for the repurposing of the pipeline.

The Cadiz Water Storage Facility – Approximately 1 million acre-feet of water storage capacity is available in the Cadiz/Bristol basin, which could be used to significantly expand the ability of Southern California’s water districts to store wet-year water for use in dry years.  The programmatic environmental review process for this facility has not yet begun.