Triunfo Sanitation District offeralternative sites for water tank

The Triunfo Sanitation District, at a meeting last week, presented seven alternative sites for the 2.1 million gallon water tank to replace the current water tank above Conifer Street in Oak Park.

For nearly a decade, water officials have said the 35-year-old Conifer tank is unsafe because it’s deteriorating. A geological survey of the site in the late 1990s also showed the tank could slide down the hill if the area were to be hit by a sizable earthquake.

The tank’s limited capacity also is a concern.

The information session came as a response to concerns raised by Oak Park residents frustrated with Triunfo’s failure to fully explain why a trailhead in Palo Camado Canyon above Doubletree Street was selected as the best site for the new tank.

Mark Lawler, district manager for Triunfo, said there were a number of factors taken into consideration when choosing the water tank’s new site.

Because 1,300 feet is considered by engineers as an optimal elevation for the new tank, Lawler said Triunfo was limited to where they could locate it.

Lawler also said geologists mapped the region’s slide areas, which further limited possible tank locations.

Many of the sites, including the current Conifer location, were dismissed because of extensive grading required to meet geological safety standards.

In addition, Triunfo’s agreement with Simi Valley Recreation and Park District, the agency that oversees the surrounding open space, limits Triunfo from grading more than 1.5 acres for the tank’s pad.

The Triunfo staff also must show cost estimates for the roads and the water pipeline needed for each site, along with the predicted expense of geological reports for the alternative sites.

In addition, the board asked the Triunfo staff to consider sites outside of the Oak Park Water District area, as well as the cost of burying the tank if it were to be built at the Palo Camado site.

The board asked Padre Associates, Inc., a consluting firm hired by Triunfo, to stop further work on the environmental impact report for the Palo Camado site. A motion made by board member Dennis Gillette to form a community committee that would help decide the tank’s location was shelved until the Triunfo staff has a chance to present their report.

Frustrated residents now say they feel better informed.

“During this meeting, we heard information that we expected at the scoping meeting,” said Janna Orkney, an Oak Park resident upset by Triunfo’s lack of communication. “We have some choices. This is why everyone was feeling so frustrated because it seems like the (Palo Camado) site was being railroaded as the only site.”

Ron Stark, Triunfo’s board chairman, said the price tag for the new tank will be one of the most important factors in deciding where to put it.

Because Triunfo operates with such a narrow budget, Stark said he wants to be sure the final decision has as little impact as possible on monthly water bills.