Tonight on The Detroit Evening Report, we cover new water rates, upcoming road closures and more.

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Lower water rate hike approved

The Great Lakes Water Authority has voted to approve a water rate hike that is lower than it originally proposed. After listening to dozens of public comments, the authority lowered the proposed rate hike from nearly 8 percent down to 5.9 percent.

GLWA Board Member and Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Director Gary Brown thanked the board for working with Detroit’s finance team to decrease the hike.

“We could recognize in our rates in Detroit, it is not as low as most people will want. Certainly, we feel this will fit the needs of affordability in the city of Detroit. So again, thank you for working closely with us to get these numbers down.”

The decision comes a week after an authority-owned water transmission main broke and affected 400 homes in Southwest Detroit.

Legislation proposed to better track students

A new bill that would improve the tracking of students from one school district to another is expected to be introduced in the Michigan legislature.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard helped draft the bill. He says the goal is to ensure that confirmation of a student’s transfer doesn’t end at the request for transcripts. The new legislation is a response to an abuse and neglect case in Pontiac.

“That one school doesn’t presume the other school now has the kids, because what happened was they never actually moved to the new school, and the prior school district just dropped them from their enrollment.”

In the Pontiac case, three children never attended school after allegedly being left alone in their home by their mother for several years.

WSU raises free tuition threshold

Wayne State University is raising the income threshold for a free tuition program. The university is now offering free tuition to Michigan families that make $80,000 or less. The offer is renewable for up to four years.

Incoming freshmen must be applying to the university for the first time and be Michigan residents. Residents must be eligible for the Pell grant in 2025. They must be enrolled full time and have submitted their FAFSA by April 1, 2025.

Dearborn air pollution lawsuit settled

Pro-V Enterprises, an industrial waste processing company in Dearborn, has settled a lawsuit against the city for air pollution. The company has agreed to invest up to $4 million in improvements to its operations to mitigate air pollution by June 30.

The city claimed “fugitive” dust that the company’s trucking vehicles carried was a danger to residents’ health. The company is required to make improvements including planting trees, replacing stormwater systems and annual inspections.

Dearborn to provide free iftar meals

For the first time ever, Dearborn Public Schools will provide free iftar meals for students to take home during Ramadan. Middle and high school students can pick up the to-go meal during school hours, but cannot eat the meal at school. Ramadan starts Friday night.

I-696 closure starts Saturday

As a reminder for drivers, eastbound I-696 will be closing between M-10 (The Lodge) and I-75 freeways for two years starting Saturday, March 1. It’s the final phase of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Restore the Reuther project.

Westbound traffic will be maintained while both sides of the freeway will be rebuilt between Lahser Road and I-75. The project work includes rebuilding the roadway, bridge work and drainage structures.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.