Triunfo Sanitation District officials approved a rate increase for potable water at their meeting last week, the second hike in less than a year

No decision was made about whether to raise rates for the reclaimed, or non-drinking water used for parks and open space irrigation.

As of January 2011, potable water will go up by 10 cents per hundred cubic feet, a 5 percent increase. Triunfo customers use an average 2,100 cubic feet of water per month. The individual monthly homeowner rate will increase about $2.10.

Since September 2009, the cost of water delivered by Triunfo and its Oak Park Water Service subsidiary has gone up more than 40 percent.

Mike Paule, Triunfo board president, said the latest increase compensates for higher import costs.

Triunfo receives supplies from the Calleguas Municipal Water District.

The cost for wholesale recycled water also will also rise in 2011, but Triunfo leaders didn’t pass the increase on to ratepayers because they say they object to Calleguas’ pricing method.

A joint powers authority consisting of Triunfo Sanitation and Las Virgenes Water districts sells wastewater treated at the Tapia Treatment Plant in Calabasas to Calleguas, which charges a markup and distributes the reclaimed water back to Triunfo for use in landscaping and common area irrigation in Oak Park and portions of Thousand Oaks.

Calleguas bases its reclaimed water rates on the price of imported water. Reclaimed water costs 20 percent less than fresh water. As the price of the imported drinking water goes up, so does recycled water.

Eric Bergh, manager of resources for Calleguas, said his agency must receive higher revenue in order to recover the cost of infrastructure and repairs of supply lines.

“Right now we’re in the hole about $250,000 a year,” Bergh said.

“The reality is, for us to break even today, we would have to increase our rates or the reclaimed water would have to cost less,” Bergh said.

At the current rate, Bergh said his agency won’t recover costs for reclaimed water distribution until 2026.

Calleguas spent about $11 million to install pipelines for recycled water in the Triunfo service area in the 1990s and another $4 million in 2008 to repair the same pipes, which proved defective. Although the wholesaler and other water agencies initiated in a lawsuit against the pipeline manufacturer, the legal proceedings won’t solve existing fiscal problems.

Triunfo says its costs also have risen, but that the district hasn’t raised the price it charges Calleguas for the Tapia water since 2009.

“I understand the two sides of this, but we just don’t feel that tying the reclaimed water to potable rates makes sense. We need to review what the actual costs are and do something appropriate. The pass-through doesn’t seem right,” Paule said.

Triunfo and Calleguas officials will meet this month to discuss recycled water pricing.

“Triunfo wants a cut in recycled water charges from Calleguas,” said Janna Orkney, Triunfo vice president.

Paule said the newly elected Triunfo board will scrutinize expenditures and water rates even more in coming months to protect the ratepayers and safeguard the district’s interests.

“Everyone is stretched to the limit financially, so we’re trying to make sure it’s absolutely necessary, and we question everything,” he said.

At a meeting last week, Triunfo officials also struggled with financing issues related to the longawaited Oak Canyon water tank in Oak Park. While the district is ready to build the new tank and demolish two old ones, it can’t begin the $9-million project without a loan.

But if Triunfo officials succeed in lowering Calleguas’ reclaimed water prices, they could improve the district’s credit rating to encourage potential lenders.