Madison residents could be paying an average of more than $28 extra a year for their water bills if a request from Madison’s water utility is approved, the city department announced Monday.

The Madison water utility submitted a request to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin asking for an 18 percent increase in water rates, in efforts to cover increasing operating expenses and improve infrastructure and water quality.

Currently, the average Madison resident pays about $160 a year for water usage.

Ken Key, customer service manager for the water utility, said currently Madison residents’ water bills are the second lowest in Wisconsin but added, “I don’t know how this increase will change the status.”

If approved, Key said the rate increase would improve water quality in a few problematic wells. The water utility would install new filters to remove manganese and iron in the water, which Key said do not pose health issues but cause water discoloring.

Water bill spikes would also provide revenue to cover its 2007 loss in excess of $680,000, according to a statement from the water utility. To cover these losses, the department also applied for a temporary $3.5 million loan from the city to meet its obligations and expects to pay off the loan over the next three years, the statement said.

Tim Le Mondes, director of governmental and public affairs for the Public Service Commission, said it is too early to predict when the commission will reach a decision on the increased rate request as it received the application Monday morning.

The commission staff will present the case to three commissioners who independently pore over the research and analysis to reach a final majority decision.

Le Mondes said public opinion plays a major role in the final decision, and the commission provides many opportunities for public comment through meetings or website postings. Intervening groups like businesses also come out to show support or opposition to a case, Le Mondes added.

The time frame for a decision varies on how complicated the case is, Le Mondes said. The commission is allotted a maximum of 180 days to reach a decision.

“Because we are so early in the (water utility) case it’s hard to say how complicated it will be,” Le Mondes said.

If the rate request is approved, water utility would begin phasing in the price increases around October.