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Ottawa city council is the last vote needed to raise and maintain water and sewer rates to help pay for upgrades.

The city's environment committee unanimously voted for a six per cent hike to those bills on Tuesday, which would mean $34 more a year to the average home.

It also voted to keep those rate increases to between five and seven per cent annually for the next ten years.

Committee chair Maria McRae said the city can't afford to leave aging water infrastructure alone.

"This council could choose to not increase the rate and pass the responsibility to future councils," she said. "It's obvious that we're here today with $18 billion worth of assets that need to be looked after."

There are 60 kilometres of water main in Ottawa of the same kind that broke beneath Woodroffe Avenue last winter, causing an outdoor water ban for the surrounding area.

City council will vote on the rate increase on Wednesday.