Owosso schedules public town hall on water rates after residents raise concerns over century-old reservoir

Owosso City Council voted to hold a public town hall on April 23 at 6:30 p.m. to present a five-year evaluation of the city’s water and sewer systems and the proposed rate options to fund that work. The council moved its April 21 meeting to the Owosso Public Schools Performing Arts Center to accommodate anticipated attendance.

The town hall was scheduled after weeks of public attention to the utility system. At the April 7 council meeting, resident Mister Manky described an in-ground concrete tank on private property and said the city’s million-gallon reservoir has leaked for years. "I pump that water into that tank," Manky said of his own apartment system, adding later, "I think the state's gotta be notified immediately the condition" if the city's reservoir is leaking.

The council and staff responded that the city has reviewed the reservoir with regulators…