Water bonds

The board named Jamie Asbury, the district's energy manager, to the top slot after an eight-month search.

The IFA and CWA launched a tender offer June 23 that closed Friday. The IFA and Citizens' tender invited holders of some bonds sold in 2014, 2016, and 2018 to tender their bonds as part of the water refunding.  

Easing drought conditions are not stopping states from restricting water use and investing in future supplies.

"The lowered ratings reflect our view of the system's ongoing operational management vulnerabilities that led to an EPA administrative order and alleged violations of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act," said S&P's Jenny Poree.

The upgrade lifts $1 billion of the Jacksonville system's water and sewer system senior revenue bonds to AA-plus from AA.

"We are looking for parity with what's in Joliet contract. That is what would successfully allow us to work with the city of Chicago and that would make that alternative the preferred alternative over a new source water project," the commission's Paul May said.

Arizona, Nevada and California announced an agreement on Colorado River water use reductions, possibly averting a more stringent federal solution.

A draft environmental report released by a federal agency could threaten California and Arizona's water supply, if the states don't reach an agreement on their own to protect the Colorado River.

Voters in several Vermont cities approved capital proposals backing wastewater system improvements.

A California conduit will price private activity bonds to replace the intakes for a San Diego County water desalination plant.

California's bond ratings are likely to escape unscathed from the atmospheric rivers that caused an estimated $646 million in damage to the state's infrastructure.

York County priced a $24.6 million deal to help recoup costs of the purchase of a private water utility that wasn't "up to par," according to county officials.

Improved disclosure is likely to have a cost, though analysts have long maintained the benefits outweight that.

The newly stand-alone Water Infrastructure Finance Authority can sell water augmentation bonds as part of the state's quest for new water sources.

S&P upgraded the bonds to AA-plus and Fitch revised the outlook on the AA-rated debt to positive from stable.

The authority maintained positive rating momentum by drawing outlook changes from Moody's on both its water and sewer bonds and from Fitch on its sewer debt.

Since 2011, the city has issued about $5.6 billion of debt, with the most issuance occurring in 2021 when it sold $785 million.

Easing federal wetland standards could spark a “race to the bottom” as newly polluted water would flow into downstream states, a group of largely Democrat-led states argued in a Supreme Court brief.

More big cuts will be needed to keep supplies from reaching perilously low levels, the Bureau of Reclamation's leader told a Senate committee this week.

The bulk of the first tranches of the $15 billion of IIJA funds will likely be used to figure out where lead lines are located, so states and water systems can determine the scope of the problem.