Definitive Terms for Cadiz Program Approved.

Business Editors

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2001

Cadiz Inc. (Nasdaq:CLCI) today reported that the Board of Directors of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California ("Metropolitan") has approved definitive economic terms and responsibilities ("Definitive Terms") for the Cadiz Groundwater Storage & Dry-Year Supply Program ("Cadiz Program").

"By voting to approve the definitive economic terms, the Metropolitan Board has taken a significant step toward ensuring a reliable supply of water for its member agencies," said Keith Brackpool, chief executive officer of Cadiz Inc.

A summary of the Definitive Terms, as now approved by the Boards of both Metropolitan and Cadiz, was included in the company's Form 8-K filed on March 14, 2001. The approved Definitive Terms reflect refinements to the basic principles and terms for the Cadiz Program approved in July 1998.

These refinements were adopted in the course of extensive negotiations between the Company and the Special Oversight Committee of Metropolitan directors, charged with negotiating the Definitive Terms.

With the receipt of Board approval, the Definitive Terms will serve as the basis for a final agreement to be executed between Metropolitan and the Company. Execution of this final agreement will be contingent upon and subject to completion of the environmental review process for the Cadiz Program.

In furtherance of this process, Metropolitan and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service, are now compiling the Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the Cadiz Program, which will be brought to Metropolitan and the BLM for appropriate final actions.

The Cadiz Program, a public/private partnership between Cadiz and Metropolitan, will assist Metropolitan in maximizing the efficiency of its Colorado River Aqueduct and providing a reliable, high quality water supply for the 17 million Southern Californians it serves. The Cadiz Program is cited as a key component in California's official plan to reduce its draw on the Colorado River. The 50-year partnership will store surplus Colorado River water supplies, up to one million acre-feet at any one time, beneath the Company's agricultural landholdings in the eastern Mojave Desert. During dry years, the stored Colorado River water and indigenous groundwater will be extracted, in accordance with the terms and conditions of a comprehensive Groundwater Monitoring and Management Plan, and returned for use within Metropolitan's service area.

Founded in 1983, Cadiz Inc., is a publicly held water resource management and agricultural firm. With its subsidiary, Sun World International, Inc., Cadiz is one of the largest vertically integrated agricultural companies in California. The Company owns significant landholdings with substantial water resources throughout California. Further information on the Company can be obtained by visiting its corporate web site at www.cadizinc.com.

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. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in its 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 price and yield fluctuations in the agricultural operations, seasonality, timing and terms of various approvals required to complete the Program, and other factors and considerations detailed in the Company's most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings.