A new tank to be constructed in the hills above Oak Canyon Park will double the potable water reserves for the older Oak Park neighborhoods. But construction won’t start for several months due to financing difficulties, officials from the Triunfo Sanitation District said last week.

The water and sewer district said it would seek cost estimates to build the new 2.1-milliongallon tank.

Triunfo uses reservoirs on Conifer Court, Deerhill Road and Savoy and Kilburn courts. The new tank will replace the aging tank at Conifer.

Environmental studies and preliminary engineering plans on how to remove the old structure and build a new one are complete. Construction for the new tank and pipelines will take place along Lindero Canyon and Kanan roads, east of Golden Eagle Drive.

As part of the project, the district will remove the Conifer tank and an old rusty tank in Palo Comado Canyon, which was built in preparation for the Ahmanson Ranch development but was never used, said Mike Paule, president of the Triunfo board.

The work will cost about $9.5 million, although the price could be lower because of the slow economy, Paule said.

“But the biggest holdup right now is the financing. We have difficulties because our new budget this year has to deal with rate changes that affected wholesale water prices last year,” he said.

“The rate increases reduced our profit margins, which affect the ratios that banks look at.”

The district’s credit was negatively influenced by the $1.8-million debt that it carries for the purchase of the Metropolitan Water Company in Oak Park. The district bought the company in 1993 to provide potable water to Oak Park residents. Triunfo pays about $800,000 per year toward the loan, which will be paid off in 2013.

Rather than seek a bank loan for the new tank, Paule said the district might apply for bond financing. Public works bonds are easier to obtain and do not require voter approval.

“Our hope was to break ground this fall, but with the financial problems it’s possible that construction won’t start until early next year or later,” he said.

At a meeting last week, district leaders also considered the impact of an impending rate increase from the Calleguas Municipal Water District, which supplies water to more than 20 local purveyors.

As of January 2011, the cost for potable water will go up by 10 cents per hundred cubic feet, a 5 percent increase. On average Triunfo customers use about 21 cubic feet of water per month, pushing up individual homeowner rates by about $2.10.

Paule said the district will likely pass the increase on to residents. Reclaimed water prices also will rise, but officials haven’t decided whether they will raise next year’s recycled rates.

Triunfo board member Janna Orkney said planning for the new tank has been going on since 2005.

“We have to move ahead. I’m really frustrated with how long it’s been taking to get this tank built,” Orkney said.