It seems to be one step forward and two steps back for Cadiz, Inc., the publicly-traded, multi-million dollar corporation with a plan to pump, then
pipe, billions of gallons of water from a subterranean aquifer east of Twentynine Palms to thirsty water districts across Southern California. Reporter Mike Lipsitz brings us the latest chapter in the continuing story…
For two decades, Cadiz, Inc. has had its sights set on selling water from the natural aqueduct that lies below the more than 50 square miles of
desert it owns in Cadiz Valley. Environmentalists oppose pumping water from the aquifer. They charge such a drawdown could not be replenished,
threatening the fragile desert ecosystem in the Mojave Trails National Monument which surrounds Cadiz’ land. Over and over the company’s plan
to sell that water has been buffeted by setbacks. The latest came earlier this week when the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District’s board decided to walk away from a plan to purchase water from the proposed Cadiz, Inc. project. This latest setback is reminiscent of a much earlier one when the Metropolitan Water District reneged on an agreement to add Cadiz’ water to its wholesale mix. Still, the bad news comes on the heels of a recent decision by the Trump administration to relax federal permitting requirements, a real cause for celebration at Cadiz, Inc. Cadiz continues to hold commitments from other Southland water agencies such as the Santa Margarita Water District in Orange County and Golden State Water which provides service to parts of Morongo Valley and 75 other communities across Southern California.
