Oak Park water company may buy surplus water tanks to save money





By Stephanie Bertholdo
bertholdo@theacorn.com

To save money, Triunfo Sanitation District (TSD), which owns Oak Park Water Service, might buy surplus water tanks from the city of Santa Barbara.


The surplus water tanks are cheaper than other storage options, but they might not be available because another buyer may have already bought them.


An existing water tank with a capacity of 1 million gallons is located on Conifer Street in Oak Park. It must be replaced because it’s too small and the site is unstable. According to Mark Capron, TSD senior engineer, the old tank cannot be seismically upgraded, despite surviving the 1994 Northridge earthquake.


There are several options. The board considered a proposal from the California Water Service Company (Cal Water) to connect into its existing storage, but it would have required a costly new pipeline.


The Cal Water proposal was inadequate, a report said, because it didn’t provide adequate storage and it was too expensive. A new, 1-million gallon tank is estimated to cost $1.8 million, but depending upon how it’s connected, that cost could hit $2.6 million.


TSD also has the option of purchasing a new, 2.1- to 3.3-million gallon tank, which would cost between $2.5 and $3.2 million.


Santa Barbara’s surplus tanks each have 1.5 million gallon capacities and would be less expensive than new ones.


The tank(s) will be located on a site on Doubletree Road, which is, according to a staff report, "at the correct elevation, is essentially invisible and easy to access." The estimated cost to connect a pipeline to the new site is $1.2 million.


TSD Chairman Ron Stark said water tanks that were once earmarked for the Ahmanson Ranch development might be available through Calleguas Water District. Stark said that the board requested information about those tanks two years ago but has yet to receive a response.


Water rates may be raised


Oak Park Water Service has a budget of $2.7 million with reserves for the new water tank. Water rates will go up if that amount is exceeded, according to the report.


Because of uncertainties on the nature and cost of the project, the proposal wasn’t included in this year’s budget.


Other factors may contribute, too, to higher water rates.


Stark said that the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board is considering tougher restrictions on the Tapia Water Reclamation Plant, which recycles waste water for irrigation. Tapia currently discharges reclaimed water into Malibu Creek five months of the year.


If this process is outlawed completely for environmental reasons, seasonal storage facilities would have to be upgraded, Stark said. Reclaimed water would be stored during fall and winter for irrigation of public lands during spring and summer.


"If that happens, we’re going to have to spend money for better facilities," Stark said.


"It’s a real mess," Stark said recently at an Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council meeting.



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