This week environmental groups brought a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its recent support of a company’s plan to pump 16.3 billion gallons of groundwater each year from a Mojave Desert aquifer to developments in South Orange County and other locations. Los Angeles-Based Cadiz Inc. seeks to build a pipeline that pumps the water and then sells that water to Southern California cities. To get the water to the necessary cities, Cadiz seeks to build a 43-mile pipeline alongside railroad tracks to the Colorado River Aqueduct, which would then carry the water the rest of the way. While conservationists argue the proposed plan will threaten natural springs and wildlife in Mojave Trails National Monument, which surrounds Cadiz’s property, Cadiz notes that the water withdrawn by the project equals the amount that would have been lost anyway through evaporation.

The Obama administration previously decided that Cadiz needed permits from the Bureau of Land Management to construct the pipeline, which would prompt an environmental review and trigger a public-comment period. However, in October, the Trump administration reversed this decision and stated that Cadiz could build its pipeline under an existing railroad right-of-way without additional environmental assessments.

In response, three conservation and health safety groups filed a federal lawsuit, which asks the court to find that the Cadiz Project pipeline falls outside the scope of the 1875General Railroad Right-of-Way Act and that the Trump’s administration’s conclusion was incorrect. The three groups, the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, and the Center for Food Safety, allege the project would drain springs in the Monument and nearby public lands, which would in turn destroy key habitat for desert wildlife like desert tortoises, bighorn sheep, Mojave fringe-toed lizards, and kit foxes. Additionally, the suit alleges that the project’s water is high in chromimum-6 and other toxic chemicals, such as arsenic and mercury, and would pose a health risk to consumers.

Supporters stated the project will provide needed water to Southern California cities and generate jobs. Additionally, the company has argued the project won’t harm desert ecosystems because the groundwater is currently flowing downhill and evaporation, not feeding desert springs that nourish wildlife. Under the Cadiz project, 20 percent of the water is reserved for any San Bernardino County-based water agency when they ask for it. In addition to selling its water to South Orange County, the company also has option agreements from Jurupa Community Services District (Mira Loma), Three Valleys Municipal Water District (Claremont), Suburban Water systems (Covina), and California Water Service (various Southern California locations).

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