WELCOME—Triunfo’s Mike Paul discusses the new Oak Park water reservoir. JOE WOODS/Special to The Acorn More than two dozen people gathered at Oak Canyon Park on June 9 to dedicate a long-awaited project that will double the drinking water storage capacity for older neighborhoods in Oak Park.

The Triunfo Sanitation District, which operates Oak Park Water Service, tried for several years to find an appropriate site and obtain financing for the new reservoir. Triunfo currently has reservoirs on Deerhill Road and Conifer, Savoy and Kilburn courts. The new 2.1-milliongallon tank will replace the aging tank at Conifer.

“ This event really marks the culmination of an extensive project that started about 11 years ago,” said Mike Paule, chair of the Triunfo Sanitation board of directors.

The Oak Canyon reservoir, which will be hidden between two hills northwest of Oak Canyon Park, is the largest public works project to be built in Oak Park since the 1990s, Paul said.

The tank will be financed by Bank of America, which approved a loan in January. Costs had been estimated at $9 million last year, but recent bids were about $2 million less, Paule said.

The work, which includes installation of new pipeline, valves and control facility, will begin this summer and take about a year to complete.

Traffic on Kanan Road and Golden Eagle and Los Arcos drives will be delayed periodically to allow trucks to access the construction site using a fire road.

Janna Orkney, vice chair of the Triunfo board, said disruptions will be minimal because the district was able to take over an existing pipeline that runs down Kanan Road. The pipes belonged to the Calleguas Municipal Water District.

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

Mary Wiesbrock, who fought to preserve the Ahmanson Ranch open space, applauded Triunfo’s efforts to help save the natural and pristine condition of Palo Comado Canyon.

“We’re so glad that Triunfo chose the alternative site and the entrance to Palo Comado Canyon was spared,” Wiesbrock said.

For several years, Oak Park Water Service staff wanted to build the new tank on the Doubletree Road entrance into Palo Comado Canyon in Oak Park. The construction of the tank, along with fencing, lighting and the displacement of a critical water source for local wildlife, would have destroyed the natural condition of the national park access point, Wiesbrock said.

Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks and other representatives from Triunfo, the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council and Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District attended the event to celebrate the achievement.