The Helena Utility Board has voted to increase the cost of water for customers. Jeffrey Nelson, the general manager of Helena Utilities, said most residents will see a $21.50 increase on their water bill on April 1. “Over the past 20 years, we’ve had a lot of deferred maintenance to the system,” Nelson said. “We have several areas that are worse than others, which is what this overall capital improvement plan is about - to just address aging infrastructure.” Nelson said the last time the city made major adjustments to the water and sewer infrastructure was in 2014 to address issues at the wastewater plant. “In 2021, they started an annual 3% increase, which was great, and it was beneficial, but it was not closing the gap on the cost of service that it costs us to run,” Nelson said. Customers who use over 2,000 gallons of water per month will see an increase of $12.20 for water service and $9.30 for sewer service each month. Nelson said the money will help to replace the force mai...