11.5.15 – On November 3, 2015, the Board of the Otay Water District, a publicly-owned water, recycled water and sewer service provider in southeastern San Diego County, California, voted to authorize its general manager to enter into a Letter of Intent with Cadiz Inc. to purchase 5,000 acre-feet of water per year from the Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery & Storage Project.  Project water will be a new source in the district’s water supply portfolio for its Integrated Water Resources Plan Update (IRP).  In the action, the Otay Board also approved the filing of a California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Notice of Exemption for the potential purchase of Cadiz water, finding the Project would have no significant impact on the district.

Mark Watton, Otay’s General Manager, stated, “We are committed to investing in new water sources to meet our region’s water supply challenges and maintain a reliable water supply for our customers. The Cadiz Water Project has been carefully evaluated and found to be a sustainable solution and we look forward to moving ahead with an agreement to participate in this innovative project.”

Scott Slater, Cadiz CEO, said, “Otay is a leader in water resources management and we welcome their participation in the Cadiz Project, a truly public-private partnership that will deliver a new safe, reliable water supply throughout Southern California.”

Otay will join the following water providers that have also reserved water from the Project:  Santa Margarita Water District, Three Valleys Municipal Water District, Jurupa Community Services District, Golden State Water Company, Suburban Water Systems, Lake Arrowhead Community Services District, San Luis Water District and California Water Service Company.  All final contracts with project participants will be consistent with project approvals limiting total average groundwater extractions to 50,000 AF per year over 50 years.

To learn more about Otay Water District, visit www.otaywater.gov