The study of Bonanza Spring was co-authored by California Professional Geologist Miles Kenney, Ph.D. and California Certified Hydrogeologist Terry Foreman after extensive field work, site observation, and geologic mapping, as well as a peer review conducted by other hydrology, geology, and hydrogeology experts. Bonanza Spring is the closest perennial natural spring to the Cadiz Water Project at 11 miles away and is separated by 1,000 feet of elevation. 

The new study confirms that Project operations cannot affect the spring, or plants and animals that may rely on it. This conclusion is reached based on important geologic findings by Dr. Kenney, principally the identification of two convergent fault zones that are blocking, or "damming," upstream groundwater flowing in fractured bedrock above the spring.  These faults intersect exactly at the Bonanza Spring, and groundwater is surfacing from the fractured rocks and spilling over the faults to form it.  

This fractured rock is at a limited depth and does not extend to the downstream aquifer in the Fenner Gap, known as the "alluvial aquifer," where the Water Project will operate. The faulting and limited depth of the fractured rocks and the extensive exposure of these permeable rocks upslope of Bonanza Spring have created a catchment area that provides a long-term source of water to the spring from above that is independent of, and not influenced by, conditions in the alluvial aquifer at the Cadiz area miles below. These observed physical data points provide incontrovertible evidence that the spring will not be affected by project operations.

Dr. Kenney's geologic evaluation is the first site-specific assessment of Bonanza Spring and provides important new information for future study. He spent six days performing field mapping consisting of observations of lithologic units, fracturing, faulting and other structures, and spent an additional two to three weeks mapping via historical imagery in Google Earth in order to map the entire western Clipper Mountains. Dr. Kenney also worked with Mr. Foreman to conduct a detailed review of available scientific literature.

Foreman, who has conducted groundwater basin analyses in California for more than 40 years, co-authored the study with Dr. Kenney. He added: "The geology evidences a distinct separation between the alluvial aquifer where Cadiz wells will be situated and the fractured crystalline igneous rocks where the spring occurs. Therefore," Foreman continued, "the long-term sustainability of Bonanza is not related to pumping at Cadiz but rather is dependent on the precipitation that provides recharge to the spring catchment. As a result, climate change is a bigger threat to Bonanza than Cadiz ever would or could possibly be."

The Cadiz Water Project will capture groundwater that is presently lost to evaporation at the base of a 1,300-square-mile watershed, creating a new water supply for approximately 400,000 people in Southern California. The Project was reviewed and approved under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); its certified Final Environmental Impact Report concluded that project operations would have no significant impacts on the environment, including springs in the surrounding mountains.

As part of CEQA, San Bernardino County, the local agency responsible for regulating the use of groundwater in Cadiz, approved an extensive Groundwater Management, Monitoring and Mitigation Plan for the Project that mandates monitoring of Bonanza and two additional springs farther from the project area. It also imposed a floor on Cadiz's groundwater use so that the Project cannot deplete the aquifer to unsafe levels regardless of the area's recharge rate. The environmental reviews and the groundwater management plan have been upheld in court.

Founded in 1983, Cadiz Inc. is a publicly-held renewable resources company that owns 70 square miles of property with significant water resources in Southern California. The Company maintains an organic agricultural development in the Cadiz Valley of eastern San Bernardino County, California and is partnering with public water agencies to implement the Cadiz Water Project, which over two phases will create a new water supply for approximately 400,000 people and make available up to 1 million acre-feet of new groundwater storage capacity for the region.  Cadiz abides by a wide-ranging "Green Compact" focused on environmental conservation and sustainable practices to manage its land, water and agricultural resources. For more information, please visit www.cadizinc.com.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT: This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including statements related to the future operating and financial performance of the Company and the financing activities of the Company.  Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.  Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those reflected in the Company's forward-looking statements include the Company's ability to maximize value for Cadiz land and water resources, the Company's ability to obtain new financing as needed, the receipt of additional permits for the water project and other factors and considerations detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.