Mojave Groundwater Bank
Mojave Groundwater Bank
The Mojave Groundwater Bank (MGB) is a public-private partnership between public and private water agencies, Native American Tribes, and Cadiz Inc. to provide clean, sustainable, and affordable water supplies to communities in Southern California and the Southwestern United States. The project, as designed, will draw groundwater from a vast naturally recharging aquifer system under a permit from San Bernardino County, then would use a repurposed natural gas pipeline and a new pipeline in an existing rail right-of-way to conserve, store and deliver this water to communities on the front lines of climate change.
Construction could begin as soon as 2026, making it one of the few shovel-ready water solutions available to Southern California. The heart of the MGB is a 2,000-square-mile watershed. Cadiz Ranch sits at the base of that watershed, directly above one of the largest known freshwater aquifers in the U.S., estimated to hold between 30 and 50 million acre-feet of high-quality groundwater. Interesting comparisons:
• The watershed is larger than the entire state of Rhode Island.
• The aquifer holds more water than Lake Mead, the nation’s largest surface water reservoir, which now holds less than half its 28 million acre-foot design volume due to prolonged drought.
From a conservation and sustainability perspective, MGB makes sense. The watershed above Cadiz forms a closed hydrologic basin, where precipitation from surrounding mountains slowly travels deep underground – far too deep for it to be used by plants or animals – to two dry lakes that are a few miles down-gradient from the Cadiz Ranch. There it becomes saltier than seawater and evaporates. MGB conserves this water by capturing it before it’s lost to salinity and evaporation, creating an immediately available new water supply to our drought-prone region.
Why SWA Supports the Mojave Groundwater Bank: Besides being an environmentally sensitive, sustainable new water supply that provides much-needed water to communities impacted by climate change and meaningful employment to hundreds of union families, the MGB also has massive capacity to store water. The two pipelines serving the MGB will be able to move wet-year water between the State Water Project and the Colorado River Aqueduct through Cadiz, where it also can be stored until it’s needed in dry years. This will create the first-ever connection between Southern California’s two primary water supply sources, which will provide new opportunities for the region’s water managers to prepare for and respond to droughts.
Business, Labor, and Water Interests United in Strong Support of Bureau of Land Management’s Cadiz Right of Way Determination
A coalition of Southern California business organizations, contractor associations, labor unions, and others interests applaud the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for its July 10, 2026 decision approving the right-of-way (“ROW”) grant that allows Cadiz Inc. to begin construction on the conversion of the Company’s Northern Pipeline from natural gas to water conveyance.
“The members of the Secure Water Alliance, all of whom support the approval of much-needed new water infrastructure for Southern California, support the repurposing of an existing fossil fuel pipeline to a water pipeline that can deliver up to 25,000 acre-feet of sustainable water supplies annually to communities that are on the frontline of climate change. This project is a sensible way to increase water system resiliency while avoiding the considerable environmental impacts and higher water costs that would come from the construction of a new water pipeline in the area,” said Rich Lambros, SWA Executive Director.
In a letter to the Needles Office of the Bureau of Land Management dated April 15, 2026, SWA members stated:
California’s water challenges are increasingly defined by infrastructure constraints and supply uncertainty. Southern California relies heavily on imported water from the State Water Project, the Los Angeles Aqueduct, and the Colorado River—systems facing extreme hydrologic volatility, increasing regulatory restrictions, and aging infrastructure. When systems cannot efficiently move, store, or exchange water, communities experience the consequences: higher rates, reduced reliability, constrained housing production, and limited economic opportunity. Despite our wealth, in some areas of California, particularly in disadvantaged communities, residents still lack reliable access to clean water. Building and modernizing conveyance systems is essential to improving access and supporting the broader benefits that reliable water supply brings towards increasing affordability for all Californians, but especially for our disadvantaged communities.
Recognizing these challenges, the California Legislature adopted SB 72 in 2025, directing the state to identify 9 million acre-feet of additional supply, conservation, or storage by 2040. Meeting this goal will require an all-of-the-above approach that includes a variety of solutions such as desalination, recycling, stormwater capture, aquifer and surface storage, conservation, and water treatment. Equally important will be the infrastructure needed to move these necessary supplies so they can be used where and when they are needed.
The letter was signed by SWA member organizations and coalition partners including the Building Industry Association of Southern California, Construction Industry Coalition on Water Quality, Inland Empire Economic Partnership, Los Angeles Business Federation (BizFed), BizFed Institute, International Union of Operating Engineers, Orange County Business Council, Rebuild SoCal Partnership, San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, Southern California District Council of Laborers (LiUNA!), Southern California Water Coalition, and United Contractors.
Statements in Support of BLM ROW Determination
“Our union’s workers, like workers throughout Southern California, rely on a reliable supply of water – without water, there is no economy and there are no jobs. We have helped build the infrastructure that brings Southern California its water, and now with BLM’s welcomed approval we look forward to contributing our labor to the conversion of the Northern Pipeline to water conveyance”
—Jon Preciado, Business Manager, Southern California District Council of Laborers | (LiUNA!)
“Southern California’s housing affordability crisis cannot be resolved without also successfully addressing its water supply reliability crisis. BIASC salutes the Bureau of Land Management for its approval of the right-of-way for the Northern Pipeline, which, when completed, will solve the water supply reliability crisis for many communities that are on the front line of climate change.”
—Jeff Montejano, CEO, Building Industry Association of Southern California
“California’s water future depends not only on developing new water supplies, but on building and modernizing the infrastructure needed to deliver them. The Southern California Water Coalition has spent more than 40 years advocating for practical, science-based solutions that improve water reliability, affordability, and resilience. Repurposing an existing natural gas pipeline for water conveyance is exactly the type of innovative, lower-impact infrastructure investment California should be accelerating. We welcome the Bureau of Land Management’s determination and view this as an important step toward implementing the all-of-the-above water strategy needed to meet the state’s growing water supply challenges.”
—Charley Wilson, Executive Director and CEO, Southern California Water Coalition
“BizFed is actively involved in advancing policies and projects that expand access to safe, affordable water, including the Cadiz Water Project and the Northern Pipeline proposal, which will bring safe and reliable water to multiple underserved communities in our region. BLM’s determination is a welcome and important step in getting this nearly shovel-ready project started.”
—Chris Wilson, Director of Advocacy, Los Angeles Business Federation
“The members of the International Union of Operating Engineers have helped build nearly every water infrastructure project serving Southern California. We look forward to working on the Northern Pipeline, especially since repurposing an existing fossil fuel pipeline for water conveyance is the quickest, most environmentally sensitive way to provide communities that need a reliable new water supply with one.”
—David K. Sikorski, Business Manager and General Vice President of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 12
“The quality of life and economic well-being of the Inland Empire is dependent on having a reliable supply of affordable water. Accomplishing this requires an “all of the above” approach, which includes approval and completion the Northern Pipeline. The Inland Empire Economic Partnership thanks the BLM for its thoughtful and positive consideration of this matter.”
—Paul Granillo, President and CEO, Inland Empire Economic Partnership
“Every day, Southern Californians’ jobs and quality of life are put at risk because of the aging condition of critical water infrastructure and the questionable reliability of our water supplies. The Northern Pipeline, by repurposing an unused fossil fuel pipeline and bringing it up to current standards, is a great example of the improved infrastructure and greater reliability we need.”
—Jon Switalski, Executive Director, Rebuild SoCal Partnership
“The contribution to a secure and reliable water supply provided by the Mojave Groundwater Bank will help to ensure economic stability and a good quality of life for Southern California communities from Orange County to the High Desert. BLM’s approval of this right of way will bring that day closer, and that’s good news for our entire region.”
—Jeff Ball, President and CEO, Orange County Business Council
New scientific paper finds no evidence to support claims that the Mojave Groundwater Bank could harm desert springs.
Secure Water Alliance supports Bureau of Land Management approval of Northern Pipeline.
Sustainable Water Supply
The Mojave Groundwater Bank will create a new water supply for up to 400,000 people across the region every year for the next 50 years.
Positive Economic Impact
The Mojave Groundwater Bank will contribute $878 million to the San Bernardino County economy and create nearly 3,000 jobs.
Water Conservation
The Mojave Groundwater Bank will conserve approximately 500 billion gallons of fresh water over the 50 year life of the Project.
Water Storage
Up to one million acre-feet of water from the State Water Project and/or the Colorado River Aqueduct can be moved to the Mojave Groundwater Bank for storage via its northern and southern pipelines.
