As the Cadiz project moves forward, Sen. Dianne Feinstein issued a statement contending the underground desert water could ultimately contaminate much of Southern California’s water supply. The project involves the transfer of ancient groundwater from Fenner Valley, about 40 miles northeast of Twentynine Palms, to the Colorado River Aqueduct, where it could be delivered to parts of Orange County and other locations, where it could serve as many as 400,000 people. “For close to two decades, Cadiz has been trying to ram through a water extraction project that would harm the Mojave Desert. And now we hear from the Metropolitan Water District that the water Cadiz wants to extract could contain dangerous chemicals that pose a threat to the safety of Southern California’s water supply,” Feinstein said in a recent statement. Cadiz officials have long denied that the project will harm wildlife. They dispute Feinstein’s claim, denying that the project’s groundwater would be brought into the Colorado River Aqueduct without treatment to screen out potentially harmful contaminants. On its website, Cadiz called Feinstein’s remarks “irresponsible and not true.” The aqueduct extends 242 miles from Lake Havasu to Lake Matthews. In late 2015, the Obama Administration’s Bureau of Land Management rejected Cadiz’s use of an 1875 railway right-of-way to build a pipeline. Earlier this month the Department of Interior issued an opinion that Cadiz believes allows its use of a railroad right-of-way for the construction of a 43-mile pipeline.
