Climate change

For the second time in a year, the Texas city's elected officials voted against moving forward with the Inner Harbor project to boost long-term water supply.

Thursday's move marks another formal step back from a water supply crisis that has negatively impacted the city's bond ratings. 

Rating agencies say they don't expect federal plans for the drought-plagued river to spark near-term credit concerns, but they may develop over the longer term.

SFPUC's head would like rating agencies to consider what issuers are doing well regarding climate risk as well as where they fall short.

A report by Ceres found climate risk — and climate resilience — disclosure uneven after a review of offering documents from 60 recent municipal bond sales.

Tens of thousands of acres have burned in central Oregon and in the Spokane region of eastern Washington.

The governors of Arizona and Nevada said their states would suffer disproportionately from the management plan for the drought-starved river.

The city moved to a less-restrictive Stage 2 drought status for water use in another sign after recent rain that a water supply emergency is no longer imminent.

Analysts say the drought, which is expected to continue for at least several months, could have economic impacts.

Beneficial rainfall allowed the Texas city to move its timeline for a projected water supply emergency to September 2028 from the same month in 2027.

Water infrastructure projects in the 2027 plan are aimed at accommodating projected population growth and addressing dwindling supplies.

The Texas city needs higher rates in part to support future debt that would be issued for $1.1 billion of water supply projects that are underway.

With many residents eschewing flood insurance, the floods may, in the long term, hurt the tax base, an analyst said

The rating agency confirmed the Texas city's A1 bond ratings, ending a review for potential downgrade spurred by an impending water supply crisis.

The potential timing for a water supply emergency, which had been projected for December, was pushed nine months into the future with the help of rainfall.

The Texas city's $115 million general obligation bond sale comes as a water supply emergency and potential further negative rating actions loom.

Pooling local projects and slicing up risk could open the door to more private capital, a researcher said.

While the city projects a water emergency, capital costs in the state's latest water plan skyrocket and demand exceeds capacity in a state financing program.

Water supply woes continue to weigh on the Texas city's bond ratings, which have been hit with multi-notch downgrades and negative outlooks.

The long-discussed pieces of the budget — a "pied-à-terre" tax, climate law changes, and higher education spending — have finally come together.