PHOENIX - Standard & Poor's affirmed its AAA rating of California Department of Water Resources water system revenue bonds for the Central Valley Project ahead of a $109 million deal it expects to price Aug. 25.
S&P also affirmed its AAA ratings on Kings River Conservation District debt and Northern California Power Agency's Lodi Energy Center revenue bonds. It also affirmed its A-1-plus short-term rating on DWR's series 1 water revenue commercial paper notes.
"We expect that the DWR water system will maintain its strong liquidity position, that the credit quality of its principal water contractors will remain strong, and that the project's water will remain a vital source of supply for much of the state's population," said S&P analyst Chloe Weil.
The soon-to-be sold Series AU bonds also carry an Aa1 rating from Moody's Investors Service.
The Central Valley Project began in the 1930s and is overseen by the Bureau of Reclamation in the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is a water storage and transport system designed to protect the agriculture-rich Central Valley from water shortages. California is now in its fourth year of significant drought.
