Jurupa Community Services District signs agreements to participate in next phase of the Project
LOS ANGELES, CA (May 6, 2011) – Today Cadiz Inc. [NASDAQ: CDZI] (“Cadiz”) announced that it has entered into an Option Agreement with Southern California water provider Jurupa Community Services District (“JCSD”) for conserved water and carry-over storage capacity from its Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project (“the Project”). JCSD, which serves customers in parts of western Riverside County, is the fifth water provider to agree to participate in the Project, joining Santa Margarita Water District, Three Valleys Municipal Water District, Golden State Water Company and Suburban Water Systems. With the addition of JCSD, over 70% of the water to be conserved annually by the Project is now under option.
JCSD’s involvement in the Project will be on terms consistent with those previously announced for the other Project participants. JCSD will have the right to acquire a firm, annual supply of 5,000 acre-feet of water and will also have the option to acquire storage capacity in the Project to manage this new supply in complement with its other water resources. These rights will be exercisable upon completion of the Project’s California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) review, which is currently underway. JCSD has committed funds to the CEQA review process and will share costs with the other Project participants and Cadiz.
“The Jurupa Community Services District is dedicated to ensuring the future delivery of a reliable, high-quality water supply for our
customers,” said JCSD Board of Directors President Jane Anderson. “The Cadiz Valley Project offers a new way to minimize variability in our annual supplies and improve reliability for our customers at a competitive cost. We look forward to participating in the next phase of this exciting Project.”
“We are pleased that Jurupa Community Services District has joined the four other water providers as a participant in the Project.” said Scott Slater, Cadiz General Counsel. “The Project is committed to improving long-term water supply reliability in Southern California without harm to the desert and watershed environment at the Project area. Jurupa has a long history of safe and sustainable use of Southern California’s groundwater and we welcome their participation in the Project.”
Cadiz is in discussions with additional water providers that are interested in acquiring rights to the remaining annual supply conserved by the Project and is also exploring opportunities with additional parties related to the imported storage component of the Project.
About the Project
The Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project is designed to capture and conserve thousands of acre-feet of native groundwater currently being lost to evaporation through an aquifer system beneath Cadiz’s property in eastern San Bernardino County, California. By implementing established groundwater management practices, the Project will create a new, sustainable annual water supply for Project participants. In addition, the Project offers storage capacity that can be used by participants to carry-over – or “bank” – annual supplies, without the high rates of evaporative loss suffered by local surface reservoirs. Project facilities will be built on privately-owned land to safeguard nearby federal lands and pristine desert.
The Project is currently in a CEQA environmental review and permitting phase led by Santa Margarita Water District (“SMWD”). A Notice of Preparation (“NOP”) of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (“DEIR”) formally commencing the public portion of the CEQA process was issued in February 2011 by SMWD, and a 30-day scoping period was initiated. Two public scoping meetings were held in March 2011. A Groundwater Stewardship Committee of leading national groundwater experts was formed in April 2011 to guide the development of an operating plan and monitoring program for the Project. Preparation of the DEIR is ongoing and the document is expected to be released in the coming months.
About Jurupa Community Services District
Founded in 1956, the Jurupa Community Services District is a public agency known as a Special District, responsible for providing water and sewer services and maintaining parks and frontage landscape in an unincorporated, 48-square-mile region of western Riverside County, California. For more information, visit JCSD’s web site at www.jcsd.us.
About Cadiz Inc.
Founded in 1983, Cadiz Inc. is a publicly-held renewable resources company that owns 70 square miles of property with significant water resources and clean energy potential in eastern San Bernardino County, California. The Company is engaged in a combination of water supply and storage, organic farming and solar energy projects. In 2009 Cadiz adopted a wide-ranging “Green Compact” to implement environmental conservation and sustainable management practices at its properties. For more information about Cadiz, visit www.cadizinc.com.
Contact: Courtney Degener, Investor Relations, p. 213-271-1603