State Rep. Brian BeGole is fighting for critical water infrastructure improvements in Shiawassee County.

The city of Owosso is preparing for a generational reinvestment in its water and sewer infrastructure, with improvements to drinking water, wastewater treatment and sewer collection systems laid out over a period of several years.

Much of the infrastructure dates back to the 1930s and has significantly exceeded its expected service life. In addition, replacing the city’s 40-year-old nitrification towers and building a retention basin at the city’s wastewater plant are essential to meeting regulatory requirements and protecting both public health and the environment. 

“Our focus for the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year should be delivering on the priorities a majority of people in our state have,” said BeGole, of Antrim Township. “One of these priorities is having good local infrastructure and committing available resources to producing good local roads and reliable utilities. My legislative staff and I have spoken with local officials about these needed upgrades, and as we go through the budget process, I will continue to push for needed dollars to help meet project costs and get shovels in the ground.”

BeGole has requested $207.7 million for the projects. If approved, the drinking water system improvements totaling $119.7 million would include extensive water main replacements across the city to modernize aging infrastructure and improve reliability, well rehabilitation, lead service line replacements, upgrades to an existing lime-softening water treatment plant to meet standards and replace failing components, and more.

The nitrification tower replacement would fall under a $79.2 million wastewater treatment investment that includes the construction of a 5-million-gallon overflow retention basin to reduce sanitary sewer overflows during storm events and comply with previous state decrees.

The final component of the request is $8.8 million for sewer collection systems, which include the rehabilitation of aging sewer lines, sanitary sewer interceptor replacements and river crossing enhancements like at the M-52 bridge.

BeGole noted Owosso’s water and wastewater utilities serve not just residents in the city, but throughout the surrounding region through a shared system that includes Owosso Township, Caledonia Charter Township and the city of Corunna. This collaborative regional approach makes the city’s infrastructure a vital asset for much of central Shiawassee County.

“Modernizing such an expansive system is both complex and costly, but these are systems that in some cases are well past their lifetimes,” BeGole said. “In addition to creating basic reliability and long-term peace of mind for residents, these improvements will also expand our region’s ability to attract and support new industry and business development – particularly those requiring high water usage or advanced wastewater treatment. These are economic opportunities that the current systems can’t fully accommodate, and these upgrades would be a true gamechanger.”

For the first time in the state budget process, every request for dedicated funding has been submitted publicly, with full details available for everyone to see to ensure transparency and accountability for taxpayers.

The House received more than 800 budget submissions, totaling more than $4 billion. Each of these requests is available at house.mi.gov/LegislativelyDirectedSpendingItems.