The Cadiz aquifer system holds more than 30 million acre-feet of water, more capacity than Lake Mead. The company has spent the better part of 30 years fighting legal challenges to its scheme to pump the water and sell it to thirsty communities in Orange County and the Central Valley.
In recent years, under pressure from stockholders, Cadiz Inc. has pursued a variety of other ventures. From growing citrus, to cultivating marijuana, many have been controversial, none saved the company from accumulating excessive debt. But sporting a board makeover and dynamic new CEO installed last June, the company’s latest foray, production of green hydrogen, may have merit.
Understandably, Cadiz’ critics remain skeptical. The company has a well-earned reputation for deceptive PR maneuvers, lack of transparency, and a propensity to exaggerate. Its practices have raised the ire of scientists, conservationists, and Native American tribes. They oppose Cadiz’ claims that every second, 330 gallons of fresh water in the Mojave is lost to evaporation. Scientific experts warn the project would extract 25 times more groundwater than is naturally replenished.
Cadiz claims they would recharge all of the pumped water by storing water in wet years for cities as far away as Phoenix. Environmentalists say the pumping would cause the natural springs and streams to dry up, depriving essential water from desert vegetation and wildlife, including bighorn sheep, bobcats, and migratory birds.
Last year, the company signed an agreement with the Santa Margarita Water District to deliver water via pipeline from Cadiz Ranch some 300 miles to the affluent Orange County community. If they are able to clear a couple of government hurdles, Cadiz will start construction of the pipeline this year and open the spigot in 2026.
New board full of notable names
Cadiz’ board of directors makeover appears well suited for such a challenge, They include a past leader of the California Environmental Protection Agency, a former advisor to President Bill Clinton, basketball legend Magic Johnson’s former business partner and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ current chief of staff. Board Chair and CEO is heavy hitter Susan Kennedy. Kennedy was cabinet secretary to former Gov. Gray Davis, chief of staff to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former member of the Public Utilities Commission, and communications director for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Kennedy has been angling to rebrand Cadiz Inc. as an environmental justice enterprise that can supply water to low-income communities, while generating revenue for Native American tribes. Kennedy says the proposed groundwater bank will be at least 50% tribally owned — a clever response to the tribal opposition that has dogged Cadiz in the past.
Without a doubt, Cadiz board of power players is already working to woo Sacramento because standing in the way of their pipeline is a state law that prohibits sending water through the aqueduct unless the State Lands Commission, or SLC, determines the pumping “will not adversely affect the natural or cultural resources” of nearby public lands. And worse, the SLC last month cited Cadiz lack of transparency and excessive debt when it terminated a long-term pipeline right-of-way Cadiz was counting on.
Is hydrogen the future for Cadiz?
The remaining bright spot on the horizon for Cadiz is a joint agreement signed in recent months with RIC Energy, a Spanish renewable power company. Under the agreement, which some claim will create the world’s largest hydrogen production facility, Cadiz will supply RIC with up to 3,000 acres of land and 500 acre-feet of water annually. RIC will build a photovoltaic solar farm on the ranch and use the power generated to split water molecules into hydrogen atoms, as much as 50 tons of green hydrogen daily. The pair then aim to use the rail lines, pipelines and interstate highways that intersect Cadiz Ranch to deliver the clean-burning hydrogen to Southern California markets to fuel zero-emission cars, trucks, and electric generation power plants.
Looking ahead, it’s anyone’s guess whether Cadiz Inc. will rally around the green opportunities hydrogen presents or fall back on the environment-busting vision that has created so much mistrust and litigation over the past three decades.
