Troublesome pipeline OK’d





Las Virgenes Municipal Water District officials approved funding for a $1.5-million recycled water pipeline to be installed under a two-mile stretch of Agoura Road between Ladyface Court and Cornell Road.

The work will be done in conjunction with the city’s Agoura Road widening project, which is set to begin soon.

The City of Agoura Hills is expanding Agoura Road from two to four lanes from the city’s western border to Cornell Road. The work will pave the way for commercial and residential development along the road that has been planned for more than a decade.

In December, the Agoura City Council and the Joint Powers Authority, consisting of Las Virgenes Municipal Water District and Triunfo Sanitation District, butted heads over the pipeline project.

The JPA told the city it was not going to fund the new 8-inch recycled water line as part of the road widening project because costs were too high.

At the urging of the city, LVMWD and Triunfo officials reconsidered the issue at a special meeting Feb. 2. The water officials said they also realized it would be cheaper and less disruptive to build the new pipeline when the street is already torn up for the road widening.

The city offered to contribute $300,000 toward the work.

Since Triunfo and LVMWD both have a stake in the Joint Powers Authority, which coowns the Tapia Wastewater Reclamation Facility and manages recycled water infrastructure for the area, the project required a majority vote from both the boards to proceed.

But while LVMWD officials voted unanimously in favor of the project, Triunfo directors were split on the issue. Directors Janna Orkney and Mike Paule were opposed, and Director Steven Iceland was absent, resulting in a 2-2 vote.

Triunfo serves about 30,000 residents in Oak Park, North Ranch, Lake Sherwood, Westlake and portions of Bell Canyon. As part of the joint agreement, Triunfo pays about 30 percent of the construction costs for recycling infrastructure, yet few of those projects benefit ratepayers in Triunfo, Orkney said.

But Director James Wall said that by voting for the Agoura pipeline he hopes LVMWD will support projects benefiting Triunfo in the future.

After the JPA meeting, LVMWD officials reconvened separately and again voted unanimously to approve funding for the pipeline.

The new pipeline will allow the district to move more recycled water from the east side to the west side of the city and reduce the use of potable water in the area, officials said.



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