History

Founded in 1983, Cadiz Inc. is a renewable resources company based in Los Angeles. The Company began after acquiring 11,000 acres of land in the Cadiz Valley of eastern San Bernardino County, California. A NASA-funded research project that integrated satellite imagery with geological, geophysical, and geochemical survey methods played a major role in the selection and evaluation of the land. Through analysis of the NASA research, the founders of the Company determined that our land was situated over a large, naturally recharging aquifer system able to provide a high-quality, reliable water supply to southern Californians, as well as much-needed underground storage for surplus water.

In 1984, we installed the first production wells at our Cadiz Valley property to determine the potential of the aquifer system; these wells yielded high-quality groundwater. A year later, we more than doubled the size of the Cadiz Valley property – expanding to 27,000 acres. Today, we own more than 45,000 acres, 34,000 of which are located in the Cadiz Valley.

With a vast underground water resource, fertile soil, few indigenous pests and warm weather, the Cadiz Valley has been ideal for agricultural development. In 1986, we planted the first table grape vineyards with much success. In 1989, we added a citrus orchard and have continued to plant seasonal crops, such as melons, peppers, squash, asparagus and beans, using agriculturally sustainable and organic farming practices. Today, our vineyards, citrus orchards and seasonal vegetable crops continue to flourish.

In addition to our agricultural operations, in 1998 we began to develop a water supply and storage project at the property. The project was originally designed to provide storage of imported surplus Colorado River water for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and return that water and native groundwater to Metropolitan when needed.

Starting in 2008, we began to re-design the project in an effort to focus on the conservation of water being lost annually to evaporation from the aquifer system and to more directly reach customers in need of reliable supplies.  We also changed the route for the project’s water conveyance pipeline to avoid crossing undisturbed federal lands.  In September 2008, we executed a 99-year lease agreement with the Arizona and California Railroad Company (ARZC) to utilize a portion of the railroad’s existing right-of-way for the water conveyance pipeline. The pipeline would be buried alongside the railroad tracks on pre-disturbed land and connect the project’s wellfield at our Cadiz Valley property with the Colorado River Aqueduct.

Since 2008, we have achieved significant milestones in the development of the Water Project. The Project began a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) environmental review and permitting process in February 2011 led by the Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD). The Final  Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was certified by SMWD in July 2012 and the Project is now in the pre-construction phase. To learn more about the Water Project, click here.

In addition to the Water Project, we are pursuing other sustainable and environmentally-responsible uses of our land, including solar energy development and habitat preservation. Since our founding, we have been committed to the highest, best and most sustainable use of our properties and continue the pursuit of that goal today and beyond.