Measure W, the Safe Clean Water Parcel Tax, could cost Los Angeles county citizens 2.5 cents per square feet of area with construction to fund projects that will capture, treat and recycle rainwater, according to the ordinance’s text.
A two-thirds approval is required for the measure to pass.
If the measure passes, approximately $300 million annual tax revenue from the measure would be used to fund stormwater capture structures to increase stormwater and runoff capture in LA County. Measure W establishes a LA Safe, Clean Water program that will take actions to decrease runoff pollution from washing into aquifers and channels.
According to the ordinance, the money would also fund projects such as improving flood management, decreasing flood risk from runoffs and mudslides and new recreational opportunities. Little is known if any further funding would be needed.
Sarah Morrill, fifth-year graphic design major, said water scarcity in California would be alleviated if the measure is passed.
“I just think if you are taxed for a good cause, I’m all for it,” Morrill said. “I would vote ‘yes’ if it would ultimately help [fight] pollution.”
The tax would apply to residents of the Los Angeles County Flood District which, according to the LA County Flood Control System map, includes Long Beach, Downey and Norwalk.
The only way a business would be exempt from the tax is if it is able to demonstrate that it has installed runoff measures or is capturing and recycling stormwater in some fashion.
The tax would apply to areas of land such as buildings, roofs, sidewalks or parking lots. The areas that would not be considered within the 2.5 cents per square feet would be areas where there are vegetation such as grass, lawns or gravel.
“Although I question the merits of assessing property tax according to the amount of impermeable surface, I believe that clean water is a human right and I support the goals of Measure W,” said Amanda Fisher, assistant professor of botany in the department of biological sciences.
The ordinance states 50 percent of the money collected through the tax will be used for the implementation, operation and maintenance of the Regional Program which is part of the Safe Clean Water Program. The Regional Program is meant to establish the process of cleaning and treating the water.
Forty percent of the measure’s revenue will be utilized to the Municipal Program for funding for the Safe Clean Water Program. The remaining 10 percent of the money collected through the tax will be allocated to the District program meant to implement the projects and oversee planning of stormwater treatment.
“It is definitely a good idea to reuse and recycle water. [California] doesn’t invest heavily on a sustainable way to conserve water in the natural way we get our water,” said Matt Grubs, third-year Spanish major. “There is a lot of changes that should be made toward the water problem.”