The Water System transaction proceeds consisted of $150 million in new money needs to fund improvements to the regional water system identified through the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), including improvements to the treated water transmission system, rehabilitation and repair of booster pumping stations and reservoirs, improvements to raw water tunnels, shafts and related structures, purchase of equipment and vehicles, improvements to the Springwells, Northeast, Southwest and Lake Huron water treatment plant in addition to targeting for tender over $371 million of Senior Lien Series 2020C taxable advance refunding bonds, of which $87.4 million were ultimately tendered.

The Sewer System transaction consisted of $100 million in new money needs to fund improvements to the regional sewer system identified through the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), including cleaning, evaluating and rehabbing several sewers including Woodward sewer, Conner Creek sewer, Detroit River interceptor, and Northwest interceptor, rehabilitation of Freud pumpstation, improvements to the Water Resource Recovery Facility, and improvements to several of the combined sewer overflow facilities including rehabilitation of the Oakwood and Leib facilities in addition to targeting for tender over $589 million of Senior Lien Series 2020A and $82 million of Second Lien Series 2020B taxable advance refunding bonds, of which $270.1 million were ultimately tendered.

SWS worked closely with GLWA and its Municipal Advisor on a comprehensive and aggressive rating agency strategy which included a well-planned guided tour showcasing select GLWA plant operations and many of the economic development projects within the City of Detroit.

The collaborative effort resulted in rating upgrades by Moody’s and Fitch in advance of pricing

The combination of a strong municipal market together with SWS’ recommended streamlined offering and aggressive marketing allowed SWS to generate over $8.14 billion in priority orders across both offerings. 

• Water System transaction was well received, attracting $3.17 billion in priority orders, including 64 unique investors

• Sewer System transaction was well received, attracting $4.97 billion in priority orders, including 59 unique investors

Given the strong order book, credit spreads were decreased by between 6-21 basis points (compared to BVAL) on both the water and sewer credits over the course of the entire pricing period.