EPA Reserves Up to $194M WIFIA Loan for Cadiz Mojave Northern Pipeline
- EPA reserved up to $194 million WIFIA loan for Cadiz’s Mojave Groundwater Bank Northern Pipeline.
- Cadiz says the WIFIA reservation improves credit profile, lowers ratepayer costs, and speeds delivery.
- Cadiz is raising about $450 million equity for MWI; Lytton Rancheria committed $51 million.
Introduction — Mojave pipeline moves into federal financing queue
EPA selects Cadiz’s Mojave Groundwater Bank – Northern Pipeline for a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan reservation, advancing a major water-storage and conveyance project in California’s desert, the company announces.
EPA reservation lifts financing hurdle for Northern pipeline
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administratively reserves up to $194 million for Cadiz’s Mojave Groundwater Bank – Northern Pipeline as the firm advances a formal WIFIA application through underwriting. The reservation does not yet finalize funding but signals federal support for a low‑interest, long‑term loan tailored to nationally significant water infrastructure projects, Cadiz says. Company executives frame the WIFIA reservation as a cornerstone of a multi-source financing plan that will combine equity, government grants, municipal financing and other low‑cost debt to fund construction.
Cadiz positions the WIFIA reservation as lowering long‑term costs for ratepayers and accelerating project delivery. The Northern Pipeline is part of the broader Mojave Groundwater Bank program, which the company intends to operate through special purpose vehicle Mojave Water Infrastructure Company LLC (MWI). With water-supply agreements for the Northern Pipeline executed and construction financing activities already under way, Cadiz says the reserved WIFIA amount complements those commitments and improves the project’s credit profile for additional lenders.
Company and local water officials call the reservation a public‑private partnership milestone. Don Bunts, general manager of Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company, and Cadiz Chair and CEO Susan Kennedy both welcome EPA’s selection, noting that WIFIA financing, together with private and tribal investment, moves the project closer to construction and operation.
Equity commitments and private capital under review
Cadiz is raising roughly $450 million in equity for MWI, with the Lytton Rancheria of California agreeing in November to provide up to $51 million as a first tranche convertible into the project entity. The company is in due diligence with private equity investors that it says could supply up to $400 million more to complete the planned equity stack.
Southern pipeline plans and next steps
The Mojave program also includes a planned 43‑mile Southern Pipeline connection to the Colorado River Aqueduct for which Cadiz intends to seek a separate WIFIA loan. Cadiz advances its Northern Pipeline WIFIA application through EPA underwriting while continuing construction financing work and regulatory steps needed to bring project facilities online.