Huge increases in water and sewer bills are on the way in many places as cities and towns try to repair aging pipes and correct artificially low prices. Atlanta, Detroit, New York and Tampa are among cities facing large rate increases. Many of the nation’s 70,000 smaller systems - from Monterey, Calif., to Charleston, W.Va. - are imposing major price hikes, too. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the nation’s water and wastewater systems need an investment of up to $1.2 trillion over 20 years. Also, arid states such as Arizona, Texas and Utah, where water costs more to provide, have fast-growing populations. ‘God made the water, but he didn’t make the pipes or have to comply with EPA regulations,’ says Nick DeBenedictis, CEO of Aqua America, a private water company that serves 3 million. Last year, the median annual residential bill was $278 for water and $276 for sewer service, reports the American Water Works Association, an industry group. The median rate increase was about 5%, says Doug Scott, a credit analyst at Fitch Ratings, which evaluates the debt of municipal utilities. Average rate increases of that amount are enough to finance the industry’s capital […]