Endgame: SB 120 and the Battle Over the Cadiz Project

KCETAugust 30, 2018According to the Mojave Desert Land Trust, a nonprofit conservation group located in Joshua Tree, the Cadiz project would greatly affect the springs that migratory birds, bighorn sheep and native desert plants all rely on to survive. The study found that Bonanza Spring, one of the Mojave springs that would be affected by Cadiz groundwater pumping, would not be replenished quickly enough by rainwater to be sustainable to wildlife. In an April 2018 study funded by the Mojave Desert Land Trust called “Understanding the Source of Water for Selected Springs Within Mojave Trails National Monument, California,” they stated that: “Substantial groundwater development is proposed for export out of the region. Proposed groundwater development is anticipated to be in excess of the groundwater recharge to the basin, resulting in basin aquifer drawdown from pumping upgradient, and impacts to elevations above Bonanza Spring.” Read the article here