Home - Mojave Groundwater Bank

A significant water infrastructure project that will provide clean, reliable and affordable water to underserved communities in Southern California.

The Urgency

A century ago, California built an extensive infrastructure of reservoirs and aqueducts – all based on predictable mountain snowmelt and routing the occasional excess to the ocean. Climate unpredictability is forcing communities, leaders and water agencies to rethink these dated solutions. Increasing water supply in a responsible way and reducing waste is imperative. Underground water storage is more important than ever in this new reality.

Project Overview

The Mojave Groundwater Bank is a unique public-private partnership between water agencies, Native American tribes and Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company OR Cadiz Inc. to provide clean reliable, and affordable water supplies to underserved communities in Southern California and the Southwestern United States. The groundbreaking project utilizes a vast naturally recharging aquifer system at Cadiz Ranch and converted fossil fuel pipelines to conserve, store and deliver clean reliable water to communities on the front lines of climate change. Construction is set to begin in 2025, with the goal of delivering water by 2027, making it one of the few shovel-ready water solutions available in Southern California.

Anchored at the base of a 2,000-square-mile watershed in California’s eastern Mojave Desert, the project leverages one of the largest known freshwater aquifers in the U.S., estimated to hold between 30 and 50 million acre-feet of high-quality groundwater today.

After extensive environmental review, San Bernardino County approved a sustainable yield plan allowing up to 2.5 million acre-feet to be withdrawn over 50 years to support local communities. The project is also approved to store up to 1 million acre-feet of water, helping water agencies bank surplus in wet years and access it during dry years – bolstering long-term water security for underserved regions.

The Mojave Groundwater Bank holds more than twice the full capacity of Lake Mead, the nation’s largest surface reservoir, which now holds less than half its design volume due to prolonged drought.

The project is dedicated to sustainably capturing, storing, supplying, and delivering water resources - improving long-term water reliability while minimizing environmental impact.

2.5 Million

acre-feet of new water supplies

30 Million

acre-feet in storage today plus 1 Million acre-feet of new storage capacity

300+ Miles

of conveyance pipelines connecting underserved communities to water supply and storage

400,000

people served annually

Communities Served

The Mojave Groundwater Bank will provide critical access to new water resources and emergency water supplies to dozens of communities in need across Inland Southern California, including the Antelope Valley, Hi-Desert, Morongo Basin, Inland Empire, and the Coachella Valley, and improve water access across the Southwest.

Project Timeline

The assets for the project have been developed over decades. 20 years of permitting and litigation have been successfully completed, and the project is expected to be fully operational by 2027.

How It Works

The project is a result of extensive scientific research, innovative engineering, and reimagined infrastructure.

The watershed above the Mojave Groundwater Bank forms a closed hydrologic basin, where rain and snowmelt from the New York Mountains—at elevations of up to 7,500 feet—slowly travel underground to the Cadiz Valley, where they ultimately evaporate at the surface. The project conserves this water by capturing it before it’s lost to evaporation, creating an immediately available supply within the Colorado River Basin—something no other project offers today. Through the use of first-of-their-kind converted fossil fuel pipelines, the Mojave Groundwater Bank would interconnect two main sources of water supply in Southern California – the State Water Project and the Colorado River System – expanding access to water across the Southwest.

Learn more about how the project will operate

Supporting a Secure Water Future

Smart Water Use

Capturing groundwater that would otherwise be lost to evaporation and sustainably providing it to communities in need

Locally Controlled Supply

Providing improved water access to communities that have historically depended on shrinking, distant sources

Drought Resilience

Enabling storage of up to 1 million acre-feet of water for agencies to bank surplus water in wet years and withdraw it during droughts

Infrastructure Efficiency

Repurposing existing infrastructure to minimize environmental disruption, save time, and accelerate delivery

Sustainable Environmental Protections

Ensuring long-term ecosystem health by undergoing rigorous CEQA review, implementing continuous monitoring, and managing groundwater through an independent plan overseen by San Bernardino County.

Economic Opportunity

The $800 million project will create and support thousands of jobs in underserved desert communities and bring new investment into the local economy. At least 50% of construction jobs are being dedicated to residents in San Bernardino County and 10% reserved for military veterans.

Project Partners

Cadiz, Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company and the Fenner Valley Water Authority, in partnership with Native American Tribes, public agencies and water districts will construct, own, and operate the Mojave Groundwater Bank. The public-private partnership represents a landmark collaboration with Native American Tribes to build the first large-scale, tribal-owned water infrastructure project oﬀ tribal lands in U.S. history.