The Cadiz pipeline project, which would would tap an aquifer in the Cadiz Valley and move 16 billion gallons of water annually to coastal California, received a setback last week. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said in a letter dated October 2 that Cadiz can’t use an existing railway for the 43-mile water pipeline. Opponents of the project said that Cadiz was using the railway as a way to get around the need for environmental review of the project. The BLM said in its letter that the water pipeline needs its own right-of-way over federal land, which would require an expensive and lengthy review process. Cadiz plans to sell the water to the Santa Margarita Water District, 200 miles away, which would supply 100,000 homes in Orange and Los Angeles counties. Water sales could bring Cadiz $1 billion to $2 billion in revenue over 50 years. Cadiz has admitted that it would be drawing more water from the aquifer than would be replenished by natural means. Cadiz has said it will “consider all legal remedies,” including a federal lawsuit against the BLM administrative determination.
