Senator Dianne Feinstein, along with Congressman Raul Ruiz, and California State Senator Richard Roth (all Democrats), joined together in voicing their objections to the controversial Cadiz water project during a brief stop at the Whitewater Preserve last Thursday, October 25. They were hosted by David Myers of the Wildlands Conservancy, which owns and operates the preserve inside the Sand to Snow National Monument, and David Lamfrom, director of California Desert and National Wildlife Programs for the National Parks Conservation Association.
Feinstein, arguably the California desert region's greatest protector and advocate in government service, recently has seen her latest version of the California Desert Conservation and Recreation Act gain traction in the Senate. She noted that 15 years ago, the aquifer Cadiz wants to use to sell 50,000 acre-feet of water per year to water purveyors in Orange County, was found to only be able to recharge 2,000 to 10,000 acre-feet per year without going into significant overdraft. The rate that Cadiz wants to sell would be unsustainable and devastating to the Mojave.
"if we lose the aquifer that's under the Mojave, and we lose the Mojave. It becomes the Sahara," Feinstein said.
Cadiz Inc. responded with a statement that ignored recent studies tying the aquifer to major springs across the Mojave, and exaggerating the number of jobs produced by counting temporary construction workers in the total, while playing the "jobs for veterans" card.
Comments