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Water and sewer rate increases are likely for the next 10 years to maintain a modest program of repairing and replacing water and sewer lines in Prince George's and Montgomery counties, said Jerry N. Johnson, general manager of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.

The utility, which serves about 1.8 million customers in the two counties and has had record-setting numbers of water main breaks in the past two years, projects that it will need a 13.6 percent hike next year and a 10.2 percent increase the following year as part of a strategy to make required improvements and follow industry-best practices.

Even so, the utility is not replacing pipe at the rate it should to catch up a backlog of maintenance that was deferred as rates went unchanged for six years, said Johnson, who took the helm of the WSSC in September after 12 years as manager of D.C. Water and Sewer Authority.

Rate increases of 7.2 percent, 6.3 percent and 5.8 percent are projected for budget years 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively, said utility Chief Financial Officer Thomas Traber. Detailed projections were not available for the following four years.

Johnson made his remarks Monday in Rockville at a meeting of the Committee for Montgomery, a group of county leaders from the public and private sectors who meet to share interests, discuss issues and develop consensus to shape policy.

The county councils of Prince George's and Montgomery are slated to meet May 13 to consider whether to approve a 8.5 percent rate increase for WSSC customers, which was recommended by the utility's commissioners and would take effect July 1.

The utility's six commissioners had split along county lines on how much to increase rates and struggled to agree on 8.5 percent. That recommendation is a percentage point short of the 9.5 percent hike the utility's staff had recommended.