Cadiz water project returns

Cadiz, Inc., is apparently resuscitating their proposal to store Colorado River water in underground aquifers on their thousands of acres east of Bristol Dry Lake near Amboy. The new wrinkle would include an underground pipeline on a railroad right-of-way rather than on federal land. The company announced last week that it had reached a 99-year lease agreement with Arizona & California Railroad Co.

Per SFGate:

For years, Cadiz has been working on a plan to provide Southern California with up to 49 billion gallons of water during years of drought and emergencies. It suffered a blow in 2002 when the giant Metropolitan Water District of Southern California pulled out.

Under the plan, surplus Colorado River water would be shipped during wet years by pipeline from the California Aqueduct to the Cadiz aquifer. The aquifer is 30 miles north of the aqueduct.

According to the company's web page about the project, the lead agency during the environmental review process is expected to be the County of San Bernardino. View a map of the project area here. Learn more about how the project would work here.

Learn more about water issues on the Water page of the MBCA Website.