One Water plan will
integrate High Desert infrastructure investments to improve water
quality and increase reliability of local water
supplies.
LOS
ANGELES, Jan. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadiz, Inc.
(NASDAQ: CDZI/CDZIP, the "Company") announced that Fenner Gap
Mutual Water Company ("Fenner Gap") has signed a Letter of Intent
with the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority ("VVWRA")
to develop a coordinated investment strategy for water
infrastructure in San Bernardino
County's Mojave Basin
region. The ambitious plan to integrate public, private and
multi-agency financing resources for the design, construction and
operation of water infrastructure will incorporate recycled water
from VVWRA's wastewater treatment plants with pipeline facilities
and water supplies from Cadiz in the eastern Mojave to create a regional "one water" plan
that benefits the whole region.
Fenner Gap is the non-profit corporation established by the
Company to distribute water supplies from the Cadiz Water
Conservation, Supply and Storage Project. VVWRA is a Joint Powers
Authority providing wastewater treatment, water recycling, and
renewable green energy, whose members include the City of Victorville, City of Hesperia, the Town of Apple Valley and San Bernardino County
Special Districts 42 and 64.
"Regional planning of water infrastructure is the key to
sustainable water management for the entire Southwest" said
Susan Kennedy, Chief Executive
Officer of Cadiz. "Coordinating the design and operation of
pipelines, reclamation facilities, recharge basins and storage will
not only increase water supplies through efficiency and
conservation but will improve the health and quality of groundwater
basins throughout the region."
"We have many sources of water supply in the Mojave Basin: natural river flow, groundwater,
imported water, storm water and recycled water," VVWRA's General
Manager, Darron Poulsen, said. "But
in the end, there is only one water, and we have to think
regionally and programmatically to achieve our supply reliability
and water quality goals. The "one water" concept is the foundation
of regional planning that will allow us to achieve maximum benefits
to the entire Mojave region and
other areas of San Bernardino
County."
VVWRA owns and operates three wastewater treatment and
conveyance facilities in the western Mojave's Alto Basin and distributes 12,000 to
13,000 acre-feet of water resources per year to preserve the Mojave
River ecosystem and facilitate groundwater replenishment in
the Centro and Baja Basins. Fenner Gap and Cadiz own and
manage groundwater resources in eastern Mojave watersheds including 220-miles of
buried pipelines that can directly deliver water supplies to
groundwater recharge basins in the Centro and Baja Basins.
Fenner Gap and VVWRA plan to collaborate with other local
agencies on the expansion of pipeline and distribution facilities,
advanced water treatment and collaborative recharge basins to
cost-effectively capture storm water and manage imported water
supplies. The agencies also plan to look at merging or integrating
financing powers to maximize grant and municipal financing
opportunities.
The Letter of Intent and map are attached.
About Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority
Founded in 1978, VVWRA serves a 279 square mile area that
includes Apple Valley,
Hesperia, Victorville, Spring
Valley Lake and Oro Grande.
VVWRA treats about 12 million gallons of wastewater per day.
Wastewater that comes to the VVWRA plant goes through an extensive
cleaning and disinfection process before being returned to the
Mojave River as recycled water through direct discharge to the
river or through percolation ponds located on VVWRA property. Solid
waste is treated in large anaerobic digesters, where the resulting
methane gas is collected and scrubbed by the VVWRA private partner
Anaergia, who develops the gas into renewable natural gas (RNG).
The finished RNG is injected into a Southwest Gas pipeline. Most of
the RNG is being used by Toyota where it is converted into hydrogen
for new vehicles being imported at their Port of Long Beach facility.
For more information, please visit https://www.vvwraca.gov/.
About Cadiz, Inc.
Founded in 1983, Cadiz, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDZI) is a California water solutions company dedicated
to providing access to clean, reliable and affordable water for
people through a unique combination of water supply, storage,
pipeline and treatment solutions. With 45,000 acres of land in
California, 2.5 million acre-feet
of water supply, 220 miles of pipeline assets and the most
cost-effective water treatment filtration technology in the
industry, Cadiz offers a full suite of solutions to address the
impacts of climate change on clean water access.
For more information, please visit www.cadizinc.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements that are
subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including
statements related to the Company's ability to secure any
additional necessary permits for project development. Although the
Company believes that the expectations reflected in our
forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance
that such expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could
cause actual results or events to differ materially from those
reflected in the Company's forward-looking statements include
potential litigation that may delay project development, the
Company's ability to obtain financing as needed, and other factors
and considerations detailed in the Company's Securities and
Exchange Commission filings.
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SOURCE Cadiz, Inc.