EPA Reserves $194M WIFIA Loan for Mojave Groundwater Bank Northern Pipeline

Mojave Groundwater Bank advances with EPA loan reservation

Northern Pipeline earns WIFIA administrative reservation

Cadiz, Inc. says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administratively reserves up to $194 million in Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan capacity for the Mojave Groundwater Bank – Northern Pipeline (MGB–NPL) project. The reservation holds financing while Cadiz advances its formal WIFIA application through underwriting, a step the company describes as material to assembling long‑term, low‑cost debt for construction of pipeline and storage facilities.

Cadiz positions the WIFIA reservation as a complement to a layered financing plan that includes equity, government grants and municipal financing. The company says the reserved loan will reduce overall borrowing costs and helps make the public‑private partnership model for the project financially viable, with the stated goal of lowering water costs for ratepayers and enabling timely delivery of new supply infrastructure to the Mojave region.

Stakeholders welcome the development as a milestone toward construction. Don Bunts, general manager of Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company, and Cadiz Chair and CEO Susan Kennedy welcome the EPA decision, noting that WIFIA support and private capital commitment are critical to finalising project financing and beginning major works. Cadiz formed Mojave Water Infrastructure Company LLC (MWI) as the special purpose vehicle to build, own and operate the Northern Pipeline and says construction financing activities began last year.

Funding partners and equity progress

Cadiz reports that the Lytton Rancheria of California agrees to provide up to $51 million as the first tranche of about $450 million in total equity capital for MWI, with that investment convertible into MWI. The company is also in due diligence with private equity investors to provide up to $400 million of additional private equity, which together with the WIFIA loan would form the core of construction financing.

Southern Pipeline and program outlook

The Mojave Groundwater Bank program includes a planned 43‑mile Southern Pipeline connection to the Colorado River Aqueduct; Cadiz intends to seek a separate WIFIA loan for that phase. Cadiz adds that water supply agreements for the Northern Pipeline are executed, underlining the project’s readiness to move from financing toward construction and eventual operations to augment regional water supply.