… After trying and failing for more than two decades to pump ancient groundwater from beneath the Mojave Desert and sell it to Southern California water districts, the controversial company (Cadiz) has set its sights on new customers over the border in the Grand Canyon State. … On Monday, the Interior Department announced plans to sign a memorandum of understanding with the latest incarnation of the project, called the Mojave Groundwater Bank, touting it as “an important tool to improve drought resiliency in the Colorado River Basin” though recognizing that it is only in “early development.” And on Tuesday, the Trump administration official leading Colorado River negotiations for the federal government suggested to water power players in Arizona that they consider the project. … Opponents of the project, including conservation groups who say it could harm sensitive desert ecosystems, still see it as the same old concept.

Other desert water news:

• Los Angeles Times: Efforts to reduce dust from dry Owens Lake bed are helping, report finds