Cadiz Inc. Announces New Water Project Support from Southern California Local Elected Officials

LOS ANGELES--()--Southern California land and water resources development company Cadiz Inc. (NASDAQ: CDZI) ("Cadiz", the “Company”) announced today that it has received several new endorsements from local elected officials in support of the Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery & Storage Project (“Cadiz Water Project”). The Cadiz Water Project is an innovative, water conservation project that over two phases will create a new water supply for approximately 400,000 people and make available up to 1 million acre-feet of new groundwater storage capacity.

Bipartisan Project support for the Cadiz Water Project continues to build across Southern California and now includes: Congressmen Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) and Scott Peters (D-San Diego); California State Senators Janet Nguyen (R-Long Beach), Ray Haynes, ret. (R-Temecula) and Dennis Hollingsworth, ret. (R-Murrieta); California State Assembly members Bill Brough (R-Dana Point), Ian Calderon (D-Whittier),Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar), Tom Daly (D-Anaheim) and Eric Linder (R-Corona), as well as Orange County Supervisors Lisa Bartlett (5th District) and Michelle Steel (2nd District). These elected officials join several others announced previously, as well as regional business, labor and non-governmental groups. To view the complete list, visit www.cadizinc.com/projectsupport.

“The possibility of Cadiz providing 50 years of ready water, serving a minimum of 100,000 families per year, is an exceptionally positive step forward for our water management portfolio in Southern California,” stated Congressman Duncan Hunter in his recent letter to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (“MWD”).

In a separate letter to MWD, Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett also stated: “After extensive review and outreach, I am pleased to learn that MWD and Cadiz Inc. are working collaboratively to ensure conformity to necessary water quality and operational standards. While ensuring reliable and safe drinking water, I encourage the Board and staff to do everything they can within MWD's administrative procedures to expedite the delivery of Cadiz water to Southern California.”

The Cadiz Water Project is a public–private partnership between Cadiz Inc. and the Santa Margarita Water District and other local water providers that serve over 1 million customers across California. Under a groundwater management program to be enforced by San Bernardino County, the Project will capture and conserve groundwater that is presently lost to evaporation and high salinity in the eastern Mojave Desert and deliver that water via the Colorado River Aqueduct (“CRA”) into Southern California. The Project was approved in 2012 by two public agencies following an extensive environmental review process according to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). In 2014, the Orange County Superior Court upheld all CEQA approvals. The Project is now finalizing arrangements to transport conserved water via a pipeline within an existing railroad right-of-way and the CRA to hundreds of thousands of water users across Southern California. The Project is slated to begin construction in 2016.

About Cadiz

Founded in 1983, Cadiz Inc. is a publicly-held renewable resources company that owns 70 square miles of property with significant water resources in Southern California. The Company operates an organic agricultural development in the Cadiz Valley of eastern San Bernardino County, California and is partnering with public water agencies to implement the Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery & Storage Project. The Company abides by a wide-ranging “Green Compact” focused on environmental conservation and sustainable practices to manage its land, water and agricultural resources. For more information about Cadiz, visit http://www.cadizinc.com/.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT: This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including statements related to the future operating and financial performance of the Company and the financing activities of the Company. Although the Company 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 the Company’s forward-looking statements include the Company’s ability to maximize value for Cadiz land and water resources, the Company’s ability to obtain new financing as needed, the receipt of additional permits for the water project and other factors and considerations detailed in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Contacts

Cadiz Inc.
Courtney Degener, 213-271-1603
cdegener@cadizinc.com

Contacts

Cadiz Inc.
Courtney Degener, 213-271-1603
cdegener@cadizinc.com