Design and Construction Report staff writer
Construction can begin on a major water infrastructure project in Southern California’s Mojave Desert after the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved a right-of-way grant allowing Cadiz Inc. to convert a 220-mile pipeline from natural gas transport to water delivery.
The project, located in eastern San Bernardino County, will repurpose the existing Cadiz Northern Pipeline to move water from the company’s Mojave Groundwater Bank in the Cadiz Valley area to communities in California’s High Desert and Inland Empire regions.
The BLM approval authorizes Cadiz to convert and operate the pipeline across federally managed lands under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The decision clears a key regulatory milestone as the company prepares to begin construction on the water conveyance system.
The pipeline conversion will include upgrades to support water delivery, including construction of pump stations and related facilities. Once completed, the Northern Pipeline is expected to deliver up to 25,000 acre-feet of new water supplies annually, with the ability to expand as additional groundwater facilities are developed.
“This federal permit marks a key milestone as we finalize project financing and move forward with construction,” Cadiz Chair and CEO Susan Kennedy said.
Cadiz acquired the buried steel pipeline from El Paso Natural Gas in 2020. The infrastructure previously operated as a natural gas transmission line before the company sought federal approval to convert it into a water delivery system.
Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company, formed by Cadiz to manage and operate the Mojave Groundwater Bank, applied for the new right-of-way to change the pipeline’s use from natural gas transport to water conveyance. The approved right-of-way allows long-term operation of the pipeline on BLM-managed lands for 50 years.
Cadiz said it has secured long-term water supply agreements with public water agencies and investor-owned utilities and has construction contracts in place. The company is working with prospective investors to complete project financing.
The Mojave Groundwater Bank is being developed in San Bernardino County by Cadiz in partnership with the Lytton Rancheria of California, a federally recognized Native American Tribe. The company said the project has completed environmental studies, secured water supply permits and advanced engineering, procurement and construction planning.
When fully developed, Cadiz expects the groundwater bank to provide more than 2.5 million acre-feet of supplemental water supplies to the Lower Colorado River Basin and up to 1 million acre-feet of groundwater storage capacity.
