Otay Water District joins water project

With the authorization of its board, the Otay Water District’s general manager has entered into a Letter of Intent with Cadiz Inc. to purchase 5,000 acre-feet of water per year from the Cadiz Valley Water Project. To get the process going, the water agency filled a California Environmental Quality Act Notice of Exemption, stating their purchase of water from the Cadiz Valley Water Project would have no significant impact on the district.

“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,” said Mark Watton, Otay Water District’s general manager.

Otay Water District will join 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 as Cadiz’s partners.

“We welcome Otay Water District, an innovative leader in the water community, as a participant in the Cadiz Water Project. Otay joins a diverse group of water providers who have already reserved supplies from the Project and who serve over 1 million customers in six counties across Southern California,” said Courtney Degener, vice president of investor relations for Cadiz, Inc. “Working together with our respected water provider partners like Otay, we continue to move the project forward so we can begin serving the needs of our region’s communities as soon as possible.”

Final contracts with Cadiz’s partners will limit them to extracting 50,000 acre-feet of water per year over the next 50 years.