Tax to clean up drinking water revived — but it’s voluntary

Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers are rebooting an effort to pass a new tax to attack unsafe drinking water in California.

But there’s a twist: The proposed tax on water bills would be voluntary, increasing its chances of success among skittish lawmakers in an election year.

After calling off a plan in June to apply a mandatory tax on water bills, the governor is backing a new pair of bills that would apply a voluntary levy on ratepayers to fund safe drinking water projects. Senate Bill 844 and 845, introduced by Sen. Bill Monning, would also raise taxes on dairies and fertilizer manufacturers.

Supporters expect the bills to generate as much as $100 million per year and cost most homeowners no more 95 cents per month, money that would be prioritized to areas with the highest risk.

“These bills are now the Legislature’s best opportunity to bring clean and safe drinking water to the nearly 1 million Californians who cannot drink the water that comes out of their faucets,” said Monning.

The state has reported that more than 1 million residents face potential exposure to unsafe water, largely in low-income communities without the funding to fix the problems. A 2018 McClatchy investigation similarly found that 360,000 Californians are served by water systems that violate state standards for nitrates, arsenic, uranium and other pollutants.