POSTPONED: Help preserve Mojave Desert water resources

Orange County’s Santa Margarita Water District and Cadiz, Inc. are proposing to divert precious Mojave Desert water resources.  This project is an aggressive groundwater mining scheme that could adversely impact water resources, air quality and our federal lands. 

 

Why: Tell them know that you oppose this misguided water grab.  

 

 

 

- The Cadiz Project is Unsustainable - This project is located in the desert of southern California in an area with very low precipitation. The Cadiz Inc. intends to remove 50,000 - 75,000 acre-feet per year for 50 years and sell it to local water agencies in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.  However, most scientists estimate the recharge rates are much lower with the United States Geologic Survey estimating that it lies between 2,000 and 10,000 acre feet/year. This means the groundwater levels will drop and drop, like taking more water out of a bathtub than you put in. This is, simply, unsustainable.

 

- The Cadiz Project could have Adverse Impacts on our Federal Lands and Water Resources - Cadiz claims that there will be no impacts to the Mojave National Preserve’s springs, but the National Park Service says that conclusion is premature.  Another significant issue with the project is the delayed response in the aquifer.  The cone of depression, or groundwater area of drawdown, is more extensive in the 100-year scenario (after 50 years of recovery) versus the 50-year scenario (at the end of project pumping). This indicates that unforeseen impacts that occur as a result of project pumping, even if project pumping is halted immediately, will continue to manifest for an extended period of time. Therefore, the aquifer system will be very difficult to manage under the monitoring and mitigation plan.

 

- A Flawed Impacts Analysis - The impact analysis suffers in reliability as a result of the flawed hydrologic modeling.   Of note is the continuously expanding outer limits of the cone of depression, or area of drawdown from pumping, after 100 years. Additionally, the cone of depression is anticipated to extend to elevations approaching the head at Bonanza Spring, which is located in Senator Dianne Feinstein’s new proposed Mojave Trails National Monument.  This could affect this important spring.

 

- Climate Change – It is likely that climate change will reduce the amount of precipitation that occurs as snowfall during the length of the proposed project pumping period, thereby impacting the amount of water that will recharge the aquifer. This issue is not adequately addressed in the impacts analysis.