Commentary This is a thirsty state. Having recently survived the severe 2011-17 drought, California now is in the second year of a new drought that began in 2020. We need every drop we can get, from whatever source. Yet efforts continue to prevent tapping a new source I have been writing about for a decade: the Cadiz Water Conservation, Recovery, and Storage Project out in the Mojave Desert. What is Cadiz? As the Santa Margarita Water District described it: “The Cadiz Water Project will provide a new Southern California water supply by actively managing a groundwater basin that is part of a 1,300-square-mile watershed in eastern San Bernardino County. “Water that would otherwise evaporate will be collected and conserved for beneficial use. The project will then convey the conserved water to SMWD and to other Southern California water agencies to enhance their water supply reliability. A future phase of the …