General Conclusion, “It’s unlikely that the GA will get any funding out of WRDA” – George Croll, P.E. and General Manager, Indian Wells Valley Water District

April 15th, 2026

Ridgecrest California

The Ridgecrest City Council meeting below is timestamped to begin at the IWV Groundwater Authority agenda item at 1:52:00 with comments to follow.

The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority has relied on the claim that the AVEK imported water project will be funded in large part by a federal grant using the Water Resources Development Act. The GA estimates the cost of the pipeline project to be approximately $200 million with $150 million to be funded by a WRDA grant.

Water Resources Development Act

Congress has “Authorized” $18 billion in Environmental Infrastructure projects, BUT, is only “Appropriating” at about $200 million annually. Meaning, it will take 90 years to fund only those projects currently “Authorized” not counting future requests.

During the IWV Water District’s monthly meeting held on Monday night, a presentation was given to the board that will likely put to rest any notion that funding for the AVEK imported water project will be provided by a WRDA grant. Therefore, it is critical that the GA acknowledge the reality that not only is the project infeasible and unnecessary, but the project itself is unfunded with no realistic funding alternatives. In the simplest term, the project isn’t fundable.

The following Power Point presentation was prepared by George Croll, a Professional Engineer and the General Manager of the Indian Wells Valley Water District. The video of the meeting and presentation is timestamped to begin at 2:03:03, and you can download the Power Point presentation below.

Executive Summary

Presentation Highlights: Water Resources Development Act

• The GA says that “the government” will pay for 75% of the project.
• Environmental Infrastructure projects are inconsistent with Executive Branch policy that no money from WRDA should be used for Environmental Infrastructure Projects.
• Billions of dollars in “authorized” projects are being added each to the WRDA project list every year.
• Army Corps of Engineers “EI Authorities” are distinctly different from the traditional core mission of the Army Corps of Engineers.
• Members of Congress are limited to the number of earmarks they can add to legislation (15 or 20).
• Approximately $200 million per year is actually appropriated for WRDA projects. (400 eligible projects, nationwide)
• The project list keeps growing, but very few actually get funding.
• The only projects that are getting any funding are from earmarks.

Below you’ll find the video from the Indian Wells Valley Water District meeting that was held on Monday, April 13th, 2026. The meeting included George Croll’s presentation on the Water Resources Development Act.

Presentation Timestamped to begin at 2:03:03

It’s time for the Ridgecrest City Council to recognize and accept the truth of the matter: The AVEK imported water project is unnecessary, infeasible and not fundable.

Imported Water Project Pipeline Cost Analysis – Clean Energy Capital

The Indian Wells Valley Water District hired a professional firm called Clean Energy Capital, that specializes in water project financing. The Cost Analysis prepared by CEC can be found here: Proposed Imported Water Project Pipeline

Don’t tell the GA, but CEC estimates for the total all-in cost of 3,000 acre feet of imported water, without WRDA funding, is

Unit Cost (PV $/AF) $10,734

Publisher’s Note: This would be the highest price paid for an acre foot of water in the history of mankind.

Please see pages 23 and 24 of the CEC report for more details.

Finally, the planned route for the AVEK pipeline is shown below. Notice the alignment of the pipeline running west to the east on Garlock Road. The featured image of this Post shows 200-300 feet of Garlock Road washed out due to recent floods. This portion of the pipeline route will require the pipes to be buried fifteen feet underground according to the design engineer, Provost and Pritchard…

IWV Technical Working Group Study

A Technical Working Group (TWG) composed of qualified groundwater professionals designated by parties representing more than 80 percent of the total groundwater production from the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Basin (Basin) was formed to assess groundwater storage in the Basin and evaluate other related technical questions. This paper was the subject of collaboration between these professionals applying scientific methods to estimate the total amount of groundwater and usable groundwater in storage in the Basin.

This effort required defining the physical parameters of the Basin, including its geologic and hydrologic characteristics. Three separate methodologies were considered, and the average groundwater volumes estimated from those three approaches are as follows:

1. The total volume of groundwater in storage in the Basin is approximately 66.9 million acre-feet
2. The amount of fresh groundwater in storage in the Basin is approximately 37.5 million acre-feet

It is difficult to ignore the significant differences between the current values presently being used in the GSP and the estimates developed by the TWG. The values are as follows:

Why are the TWG estimates significantly different from the GSP estimates?

Using renowned experts in hydrology, engineering and geology, the TWG estimates were determined using a comprehensive analysis of the most complete, up-to-date data sets available and state of the art analytical methodology.

Previous studies that pre-date the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act were never focused on, or intended to, determine the specific requirement of the new law. These studies sometimes analyzed only smaller portions of the valley, did not include some potential sources of recharge, and were limited by the technology available at the time.

The study performed by the Technical Working Group specifically addressed all potential sources of recharge and the entire basin storage.