EPA reserves up to $194M WIFIA loan for Cadiz Mojave Northern Pipeline; Southern pipeline separate

EPA reserves WIFIA backing for Cadiz Mojave pipeline

Cadiz, Inc. wins an administrative reservation of up to $194 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its Mojave Groundwater Bank – Northern Pipeline (MGB–NPL) project, the company says. The reservation holds the WIFIA (Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act) funding while Cadiz advances a formal loan application through EPA underwriting, a step the company frames as key to assembling long‑term, low‑cost financing for construction. Cadiz is positioning the WIFIA support as complementary to equity, government grants and municipal financing to reduce costs for ratepayers and expedite delivery of project facilities.

The reservation underscores growing federal support for large water infrastructure projects that aim to increase managed groundwater supplies in arid regions. Cadiz forms Mojave Water Infrastructure Company LLC (MWI) as the special purpose vehicle to build, own and operate the pipeline network, and says executed water supply agreements for the Northern Pipeline and construction financing activities began last year. Company leaders and local water officials welcome the EPA action as validation of the public‑private partnership model driving the Mojave program.

Cadiz notes the reserved financing is for the Northern Pipeline portion of the broader Mojave Groundwater Bank program and that it intends to seek a separate WIFIA loan for a planned 43‑mile Southern Pipeline connection to the Colorado River Aqueduct. The company expects the mix of WIFIA debt, equity capital, grants and municipal resources to lower financing costs and deliver water infrastructure on a multi‑decade schedule.

Southern pipeline remains separate financing push

The Southern Pipeline, which would link the Mojave system to the Colorado River Aqueduct, is not included in the current WIFIA reservation and is being pursued as a separate financing and permitting effort. Cadiz frames the two pipelines as part of an integrated water banking program that will require multiple funding sources and regulatory approvals.

Equity commitments move forward

Cadiz is raising equity for MWI, with Lytton Rancheria of California agreeing in November to provide up to $51 million as the first tranche of about $450 million in total equity capital, convertible into MWI. The company is also in due diligence with private equity investors for up to $400 million more, signaling momentum in lining up the project’s sponsor capital as it advances through WIFIA underwriting.