Mojave Water Agency banks $61.5m from water transfers to tackle aging infrastructure

Mojave Water Agency banks $61.5m from water transfers to tackle aging infrastructureBolstered by a robust transfer market and rising property tax revenues, the California agency is consolidating its historical data into a unified Master Plan to address impending capital replacement needs and system bottlenecks.

MWA has generated $61.5 million in State Water Project transfer revenues since 2021 following a contract amendment that opened a transfer market.

The agency's cash reserves have swelled, with one director estimating the total near $300 million, positioning MWA to fund future capital projects.

A new unified Master Plan is identifying operational bottlenecks, such as the Cassia PRV station, where the nearly complete White Road traveling screen project will restore pipeline capacity to 94 cubic feet per second.

Historical data indicates municipal demand has overtaken agricultural use, with regional demand currently sitting at approximately 110,000 acre-feet per year for a population of nearly 600,000.

Mojave Water Agency (MWA) is preparing for a wave of significant capital investments to replace aging infrastructure, backed by a massive accumulation of cash reserves driven by lucrative State Water Project (SWP) transfers. During a June 25 Master Planning Workshop, staff revealed that the agency has generated $61.5 million in transfer revenues since 2021. This windfall stems from the 2021 Water Management Tools Contract Amendment, which allowed SWP contractors to manage surplus supplies through a transfer market. According to Wesley Massaw, who leads the imported water subteam, the agency has imported almost 130,000 acre-feet of water to the region in that same timeframe while limiting lost water spills to just 10,408 acre-feet in 2023. The transfer revenues, coupled with increasing property tax allocations, have significantly strengthened MWA's financial position. Director Limbaugh noted during the meeting that the agency's reserves are approaching $300 million, a stark contrast to the agency's financial standing three decades ago. However, Carrie LeClair, leading the economic subteam, cautioned that while reserves are healthy, the agency faces substantial upcoming capital investments as its infrastructure ages and repair and replacement needs increase over the coming years. The financial update is part of MWA's broader effort to develop a unified Master Plan, moving away from what Director Limbaugh characterized as a historically reactive, "whack-a-mole" approach to project management. The operations team is currently building a repository of water conveyance infrastructure to identify delivery constraints. Mike Simpson, infrastructure and operations subteam lead, highlighted the Cassia PRV station as a historical bottleneck, which limited downstream flows to between 32 and 40 cubic feet per second (cfs). The nearly completed White Road traveling screen project will eliminate this constraint, restoring the pipeline's full capacity of 94 cfs. The Master Plan is also evaluating long-term supply and demand trends across the agency's 36 distinct groundwater basins. Regional demand currently sits at approximately 110,000 acre-feet per year for a population of nearly 600,000. Meanwhile, historical data shows a clear shift in the basin's pumping profile, with municipal use now heavily dominating as agricultural production has dwindled. Staff noted that planning will target a range of demand forecasts to prevent the overbuilding of future capacities.