Cadiz acquires key pipeline for water delivery system

In a deal marking a key step in its plan to deliver stored groundwater to water systems in California, Cadiz, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA) has acquired the rights to the 96-mile-long eastern segment of a former natural gas pipeline from Kinder Morgan. The pipeline will link the Cadiz Water Conservation & Storage Project in southeastern California, where Cadiz is storing Colorado River water for use during drought periods, to the water delivery network serving central and northern California. In 2010, Cadiz secured an option to purchase the full, 220-mile length of the pipeline for $40 million from El Pas Natural Gas, but Kinder Morgan subsequently bought the pipeline. “We now have a very real opportunity to interconnect the Colorado River and northern California sources through the project,” said Cadiz President Scott Slater. “The conversion of the existing pipeline brings with it the ability to introduce new high-quality surplus supplies for storage at Cadiz at a monumental savings. This is pipe that’s already in the ground, can be used without disturbing the environment, and terminates near California’s central water delivery system, giving us new access to additional water customers.”