Gov. Newsom wants to charge you up to $10 a month to help clean up contaminated water

ByKATHLEEN RONAYNE AP logo
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to ABC7 in Sacramento, Calif. on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.
Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to ABC7 in Sacramento, Calif. on March 13, 2019.
kgo-KGO-TV

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to charge California water customers up to $10 per month to help clean up contaminated water in low-income and rural areas.

His plan will face resistance from some Democrats hesitant to impose new taxes.

Up to 1 million Californians are estimated to have some type of contaminated or unclean water coming through their taps that can cause health issues.

Newsom has called it a "moral disgrace and a medical emergency."

He wants to impose new fees on water customers and animal and dairy farms to pay for public water improvements.

It's nearly identical to a measure that failed last session.

A competing proposal by Democratic Sen. Anna Caballero would use money from the state's multibillion-dollar surplus to create a trust fund to pay for water improvements.