Mojave water project still needs MWD approval
A Santa Monica company is finding out just how much controversy water projects in California can attract.
Cadiz, Inc., located on the 16th floor of the 100 Wilshire building, is proposing a $150 million system that would store Colorado River and local water under the Mojave Desert. The system would be used by Southern California cities during draughts.
“When this project goes through, it will set a new standard for ground water monitoring,” said Wendy Lee Mitchell, director of external affairs for Cadiz. “Nobody manages ground water at this time.”
“And this is the most comprehensive plan in the country to address that problem,” she added.
The water pipeline and underground storage facility are public-private ventures between the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Cadiz, which owns the land involved. Cadiz, which stands to earn up to $1 billion on the 50-year deal, still needs approval from MWD’s board of directors.
But California water deals, especially those in the southern half of the state, draw a lot of attention. From 1930s Raymond Chandler novels and the movie “Chinatown,” the idea of Los Angeles as a desert oasis kept adrift by other people’s water has permeated mainstream media.
And because of the high stakes involved, Cadiz’s plan has drawn the attention of the national media, environmental groups and several lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
“(Water projects) are always controversial,” Mitchell said, “but people have really hyped this up.”
Though the plan’s environmental review was approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior on Thursday, the company and its proposal has drawn sharp rebukes from U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, and some environmental groups.
Opponents of the plan fear it will drain too much water from the already fragile desert ecosystem.
Feinstein has introduced congressional legislation to block the project and she has requested a cap on the amount of water drawn from the aquifer.
“In my mind, it does not make sense to siphon off water from this critical area of the California desert to send to the MWD when the region has other options for water and when the aquifer is vital to the health of the desert and its animal and plant life,” she wrote in a letter to Phillip J. Pace, chairman of the MWD Board, and all the board members.
“The likelihood that this could result in the destruction of the California desert as we know it... is why I strongly oppose this project.”
But Cadiz officials argue their proposal has received the blessing of several federal agencies since it began the federal review process in August 1998. The plan has been combed over by the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded Cadiz’s proposal would have no negative impact on the Mojave’s plants or wildlife, including the desert tortoise. And the Environmental Protection Agency has ruled the project wouldn’t cause air pollution.
“It’s a huge watershed in the middle of the Mojave,” she said. “It won’t affect the environment.”
And the aquifer, which Mitchell described as roughly the size of Rhode Island, would provide badly needed water for Southern California.
The region has faced a major draught this year and many of its water deals with Northern California communities and six other states that draw water from the Colorado River are due to expire in the next ten years.
However, even under those circumstances Cadiz officials are still not 100 percent sure their plan will ultimately be approved.
“Nothing about a water project in California goes smoothly,” Mitchell said. “Nothing.”
“Nothing about a water project in California goes smoothly.” — — WENDY LEE MITCHELL Cadiz spokeswoman
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Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 31, 2002. Read the original PDF.