Favorable ratings benefit customers by facilitating improvement projects
San Antonio Water System recently received renewed confirmation of its excellent credit ratings from Moody’s Ratings, S&P Global, and Fitch Ratings.
These ratings represent the highest in the history of SAWS (for a second consecutive year) and provide significant advantages to customers through reduced interest rates on borrowings for essential capital improvement projects, including the replacement of aging water transmission and distribution infrastructure.
“These strong bond ratings are a confirmation of all the hard work we’ve done,” said Cecilia Velasquez, SAWS Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer. “Not only are they a huge financial benefit to our customers through lower interest rates, but they allow us to fund our capital improvements projects and continue to operate efficiently.”
The rating agencies cited several reasons for this positive outlook, including SAWS’ strong management practices, its large and diverse customer base in San Antonio and Bexar County, solid financial performance, and thoughtful long-term planning for water supply and infrastructure. They also noted that SAWS’ water and sewer rates remain competitive – many times equal to or lower than those in other major Texas cities like Dallas, Houston, and Austin.
This week, San Antonio City Council approved a rate adjustment for SAWS customers, which would increase the average monthly residential bill by less than $4 per month beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
SAWS Water Forward plan includes proactively replacing thousands of miles of water and sewer mains that have reached the end of their expected lifespan. These repairs are located throughout the entire service area, rather than concentrated in any particular district.