A funding agreement signed this week between Cadiz, Inc. and the US Bureau of Reclamation has put fresh attention on one of the American Southwest’s most contested water infrastructure proposals: the Mojave Groundwater Bank, a conjunctive-use groundwater storage project in southeastern California that has been seeking regulatory approval for nearly three decades. Under the agreement, Cadiz will finance Reclamation’s technical review of the project, covering validation of water supply resources, assessment of proposed water exchange mechanisms within the Colorado River system, and identification of steps required to enable potential federal investment. … It is designed to connect the Colorado River and California State Water Project systems through new pipeline infrastructure, including converted fossil fuel pipelines. 

Other groundwater news around the West:

• KVIE (Sacramento, Calif.): A Yolo County water battle reaches a settlement
• KTAR (Phoenix): Arizona homebuilders victorious in groundwater lawsuit