Cadiz water conveyance project1/16/2024 ![]() It requires that we submit an application, at a date of our choosing, that contains all relevant information, such as the Final Environmental Impact Report, plus the 25,000-page record compiled in the judicial proceedings, multiple professional reports, 12 court opinions, and 25 years of certified reports pertinent to our groundwater use for farming on our property. Importantly, SB 307 does not make us start from scratch. SB 307 now requires the SLC to make a similar finding prior to the Project wheeling water in the CRA. The Final Environmental Impact Report for the Cadiz Water Project previously concluded there were no such impacts. A similar requirement already exists in Water Code Section 1810(d), but the finding is made by local agencies rather than the state. SB 307 requires any party that wishes to convey water from “desert lands” in a public water conveyance facility with excess capacity, such as the Colorado River Aqueduct (“CRA”), to first submit an application to the SLC for a review and finding as to whether the transportation of that water will lead to an adverse environmental impact. While project opponents have stated their intention to use the new law to stop the Water Project, SB 307 was not intended to “kill” the Project according to the author and the Legislature, and it doesn’t dismiss or replace CEQA or any other local approvals. Unbiased professional review has never been a barrier to Water Project implementation and the SB 307 process, executed fairly, should not be an insurmountable barrier either. SB 307, which became law on January 1, 2020, will require that the Cadiz Water Project demonstrate to the California State Lands Commission (“SLC”) that it will not cause harm to the environment before we can convey water in a public water conveyance facility. SB 307 is an Application Process, not an Arbitrary Review by the State We have a new state requirement with which to comply – arising from SB 307 – and will continue to finalize the local approval process. ![]() We have followed the law, done things openly and transparently, and earned a stack of comprehensive regulatory approvals as we’ve worked toward project implementation. The Southern and Northern Project pipeline facilities will include intertie facilities, power, pump stations and railroad improvements (Southern Pipeline only).Almost a decade ago, Cadiz announced that we were going to pursue the development of a new, safe and sustainable water project that would provide a reliable water supply for 400,000 people across Southern California. The Northern Pipeline is an existing natural gas pipeline that crosses facilities of the State Water Project and Los Angeles Aqueduct and will be converted to water conveyance. The Southern Pipeline will be constructed within an existing railroad right-of-way and interconnect with the Colorado River Aqueduct. Project facilities at the Cadiz Ranch include a wellfield and manifold system as well as over 100 groundwater monitoring installations, a water treatment facility, power appurtenances and two conveyance pipelines that will interconnect the Project to California’s water distribution system. The Project’s wellfield and pipeline infrastructure will provide both reliable new supply and underground storage to manage frequent swings between wet and dry years. The managed aquifer system will also provide up to 1 million acre-feet of groundwater banking capacity for imported water. The Cadiz Project is a regional water supply and storage project that will actively manage the groundwater basin underlying a portion of the Cadiz and Fenner Valleys in California’s Mojave Desert to conserve groundwater before it is lost to evaporation and make it available for beneficial use in southern California communities. The Cadiz Water Project is a water supply project that will actively manage the groundwater basin underlying a portion of the Cadiz and Fenner Valleys in California’s Mojave Desert, conserve renewable native groundwater that would otherwise be lost to evaporation, and create a new reliable water supply for Southern California. Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project
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