The Water and Sewerage Authority of Georgia’s Coweta County sold $87.6 million in bonds to finance capital improvements.
The bonds mature between 2027 and 2057, yielding between 2.88% and 4.4%. They received a rating of AA+ from S&P Global Ratings.
The issuance follows a period of sporadic drought-like conditions in Coweta County. The authority warns in the bond documents that the continuation or worsening of these conditions “could reduce the amount of water treated and sold by the Authority and therefore could reduce the Net Revenues generated by the system.”
The bond proceeds will fund four of the authority’s capital improvement projects. These include the construction of a pump station on the Chattahoochee River, the addition of a transmission main to a county reservoir, and improvements to two water treatment facilities.
Coweta County is in western Georgia, about 40 miles southwest of Atlanta. The county’s water system services about 31,000 customers, according to the official statement accompanying the sale of the bonds.
The bonds are special, limited obligations of the Water and Sewerage Authority, payable by water and sewer system revenue. The water system recorded $36.5 million in operating revenue last fiscal year, including $25.5 million from water sales and $6.3 million in sewer fees, according to the bond documents.
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc served as underwriter on the issuance, purchasing the bonds for $90.2 million. The price reflected a premium of $3.2 million and a discount of $500,000.