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Governor Wants to Boost Funding for Water Infrastructure

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians have been unwittingly exposed to high levels of lead in their drinking water, with contamination in several cities consistently higher than they ever were in Flint, Michigan.
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Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder wants to improve the state's water infrastructure by investing $110 million annually to help ensure access to safe drinking water.

Snyder's office says Thursday the money would come from a new state fee on water customers.

It would be used for priority projects such as water main and lead service line replacement, upgrades for failing infrastructure and collection of information on water infrastructure.

Lead-contaminated drinking water in Flint has been blamed primarily on his administration's failures in 2014 and 2015.

The proposal would implement a $1 annual fee per person starting in 2020 and increase by $1 per person to $5 annually per person in 2024.

The proposal would expire in 2040.

Customers of public water supply systems serving 1,000 people or more would be charged.

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