Cadiz forms strategic partnership with Semitropic Water Storage District in California, US

Cadiz, operator for the Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery & Storage Project in California, US, has entered into a strategic development agreement with Semitropic Water Storage District.

Under the agreement, both the parties explore strategic opportunities for operating respective groundwater storage programmes.

The storage programmes will be aimed at deriving mutual benefits either through exchanges or transfer of water supplies.

According to the deal, which extends for an initial period of three years, the partners will try to identify opportunities in order to support the delivery or storage demands of each other’s members and participating partners.

The Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project has been designed to capture and preserve renewable native groundwater in California’s Mojave Desert, which is presently exposed to evaporation and salt contamination at nearby dry lakes.

It aims at active management of the aquifer system in the region and has started a groundwater protection programme, to cut down on groundwater loss and evaporation at dry lakes.

The project tries to use the conserved water to beneficial use, in order to build up a reliable water supply for Southern California.

Cadiz has formed partnerships with public water agencies for implementing the project, which will be carried over two phases to assure water supply for around 100,000 families in the southern parts of the US state.

The project intends to increase groundwater storage capacity in the region to up to one million acre-feet with its aquifer system.

Besides supporting the annual supply, the project will also enable preservation of imported surplus water in wet periods to be used in the future.