River storage plans delayed

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2001 | 10:10 a.m.

A Southern California water provider's plans to store excess Colorado River water in the eastern Mojave Desert have been delayed.

The $1 billion proposal by Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, serving 17 million residents, and Cadiz Inc. was shelved by the Metropolitan District's board on Tuesday in order to give the agency time to study the plan.

The California proposal is similar to an agreement between Southern Nevada and Arizona for storing river water underground in Arizona for future Las Vegas Valley use.

Southern Nevada Water Authority spokesman J.C. Davis said Las Vegas water officials were aware of the California proposal.

"We are watching it carefully," Davis said, admitting Nevada officials do not know enough details yet to comment on the plan.

As part of a new agreement on use of Colorado River water, Nevada will be able to store surpluses underground in Arizona, saving the water to use during future droughts.

The Metropolitan Water District is weighing a similar strategy in an effort to keep its aqueducts full after the federal government, as part of the new river agreement, decided to force California within 15 years to stop taking more than its allotment of 4.4 million acre-feet from the Colorado River.

California has drawn more than its annual allowance of the Colorado -- up to 800,000 acre-feet a year. Nevada and Arizona, the other two states in the Lower Colorado Basin, have not required more than their allotments until recently, when population growth has increased demand. Nevada is allocated 300,000 acre-feet a year, the smallest share of the seven Western states using the river.

An acre-foot of water is about 326,000 gallons, enough to supply a family of four for a year.

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt has said he will sign a management plan Wednesday that will give California 15 years to limit its Colorado River use to the annual allotment.

Metropolitan teamed up with Cadiz Inc., owner of 27,000 acres of desert land in Southern California. An agreement reached over the weekend has been in the works for about three years to store up to 900,000 acre-feet under the Cadiz land, Metropolitan spokesman Bob Muir said.

If the Metropolitan board approves the Cadiz plan, it will be the agency's first major water deal with a private entity. The agreement is written to prevent wild price fluctuations similar to California's electricity market after it deregulated.

Cadiz, a 17-year-old water and agricultural resources firm based in Santa Monica, Calif., and Metropolitan would split the estimated $150 million cost. Another public hearing is set next week.