$50 million
investment in Mojave Groundwater Bank would be the largest
investment in water infrastructure off tribal-lands by Native
American Tribes in U.S. history
LOS
ANGELES and WINDSOR,
Calif., Nov. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadiz, Inc.
(NASDAQ: CDZI) (the "Company" or "Cadiz") announced today that the
Company and the Lytton Rancheria of California ("Lytton") have signed a Letter of
Intent for Lytton to invest up to $50
million in the Company's groundwater banking project in the
Mojave Desert ("Mojave Groundwater Bank"). Lytton's investment
would be the first major investment by a Native American Tribe in
large-scale water infrastructure off tribal lands in U.S.
history. With 2.5 million acre-feet of new water supply and
an estimated 30 million acre-feet of water in storage today, the
Mojave Groundwater Bank will be the largest new groundwater bank in
the Southwest.
The partnership between Cadiz and Lytton signifies a landmark
collaboration in water resource management, with Tribes holding a
majority ownership stake in the Mojave Groundwater Bank. This
ownership structure empowers Indigenous communities to play a
leading role in decision-making and investment in vital water
projects.
Lytton Tribal Chairperson Andy
Mejia stated, "As a Tribal Government, we take our
responsibility to be good stewards of the land and the environment
seriously. Working with other Tribal Governments, Cadiz and
other responsible environmental investors to develop a sustainable,
responsibly managed water source in these shifting times is
something we want to be involved in. With Tribal involvement
in the direction and operation of this project, we can ensure that
all people have a chance to benefit from this critical water
resource."
Cadiz CEO and Chairperson of the Board Susan Kennedy also
stated, "We are proud and honored to create this groundbreaking
partnership with Lytton to develop this important project for the
benefit of underserved and indigenous communities. Access to clean
water will be the single greatest challenge many communities in
California and the Southwest face
in the coming decades. We are grateful for the chance to be
part of the solution."
The Mojave Groundwater Bank is a clean water infrastructure
project being developed by Cadiz in California's Mojave Desert. The
groundwater bank at Cadiz is located at the base of a 2,000 square
mile watershed system fed by rain and snow in the high desert
New York and Providence mountains. The underground
reservoir holds an estimated 30 - 40 million acre-feet of water in
storage today – more water than is presently stored in Lake Mead
and Lake Powell, the two largest surface reservoirs in the United States, combined.
The Mojave Groundwater Bank is expected to include more than 300
miles of pipelines that intersect California's water transportation network to
provide new clean water supply and storage resources to
underserved, disadvantaged and tribal communities in the Mojave
River Basin, the Colorado River Basin and California's Inland Empire that presently lack
access to clean, reliable water.
Cadiz anticipates construction of the Project to begin in 2025
with initial water delivery targeted for as early as
2026.
For additional details regarding the LOI with Lytton Rancheria
of California, please refer to the
Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC today,
November 25, 2024.
About Cadiz Inc.
Cadiz is a California water solutions company dedicated
to providing access to clean, reliable and affordable water for
people through a unique combination of water supply, storage,
pipeline and treatment solutions. With 45,000 acres of land in
California, 2.5 million acre-feet
of water supply, 220 miles of pipeline assets and the most
cost-effective water treatment filtration technology in the
industry, Cadiz offers a full suite of solutions to address the
impacts of climate change on clean water access. For more
information, please visit https://www.cadizinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations,
plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words
such as "anticipates", "expect", "may", "plan", or "will". These
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding Cadiz's expectation that the proposed
transactions pursuant to the LOI will move forward and the
parties thereto will enter into binding definitive agreements, and
that Cadiz will realize the anticipated benefits from such
agreements. Although Cadiz believes that the expectations reflected
in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no
assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Factors
that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from
those reflected in Cadiz's forward-looking statements include the
risk that the parties do not enter into binding definitive
agreements or that, if such definitive agreements are entered into,
requisite funding necessary for construction of facilities for the
Mojave Groundwater Bank may not be available on terms satisfactory
to the parties or in sufficient amounts, or the progress of the
project may not proceed as planned, or the definitive agreements
entered into, if any, could be terminated prior to the completion
of the project, and other factors and considerations detailed in
Cadiz's Securities and Exchange Commission filings including its
annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and subsequent filings. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to
time, whether as a result of new information, future developments
or otherwise, except as required by law.
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SOURCE Cadiz, Inc.