INDIANAPOLIS -- A public hearing will be held Monday night at which residents will be given a chance to comment on a 35 percent rate hike Indianapolis Water wants to pass on to customers.

Veolia Water, which runs Indianapolis' water company, said millions of dollars in improvements are needed, which would increase the average customer's bill by about $8 a month.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission will host a hearing at 6 p.m. at Broad Ripple High School on the water company's plan.

Oral and written consumer comments will be accepted and will become part of a record the IURC will consider in deciding whether the rate hike will be approved.

The water company said it needs $111 million over the next two years to invest in the city's drinking water infrastructure and take care of several federally mandated projects.

Of that funding, Veolia wants to spend about $32 million on the distribution system, $27 million on an alternate intake in the White River and $23 million to keep up with unfunded mandates passed on from the Environment Protection Agency and state.

The rest of the money would be used to fund pumping station upgrades and repairs to the Broad Ripple Dam and canal.

When the water company asked for the rate hike in October, officials said the increase is absolutely vital to operations.

"We have many different projects related to the distribution system that we need to fund to ensure that we provide quality drinking water and a sufficient supply," said Matthew Klein, of Indianapolis Water.

The IURC approved an 11 percent rate hike in the summer of 2008, after the company slipped into debt amid the recession.

About 1 million customers are on Indianapolis Water's system.