IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Cadiz Inc., the publicly held water resources company in eastern San Bernardino County near 29 Palms, is working with two other business to reduce the amount of chromium-6 in its drinking water supplies.
Seattle-based ATEC Systems Associates Inc. and CH2M, an international engineering firm in Englewood, Colo., have partnered with Cadiz using technology approved by the California Division of Drinking Water, said Courtney Degener, spokeswoman for Cadiz.
Water will be treated at the Cadiz site, then transported to the Colorado River Aqueduct and deposited.
That treatment, combined with mixing the water with the aqueduct water, will reduce the chromium level to three, which is acceptable under California environmental regulations, Degener said.
Chromium is a metallic element that is part of the earth’s crust and is common in groundwater. More than 3,300 sources of drinking water tested in California between 1997 and 2014 had measured levels or chromium-6, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.
The project is expected to cost about $250 million. Preliminary tests are being conducted, with construction on the treatment center scheduled to start early next year.
Cadiz expects to start delivering water from the treatment project to various water agencies in 2017, Degener said.
Cadiz Inc. was founded in 1983. The Cadiz Water Project would pump water from the Mojave Desert to cities in Southern California.
