Millions saved on wastewater project

Residents of Twin Falls, Idaho, US will now be saving large sums of money on a new municipal wastewater project. Millions of dollars are likely to be saved due to the securing of a low interest rate on money borrowed to pay for the implementation of the project, chief finance officer Lorie Race told magicvalley.com.

This month (February) saw a $51.6 million (£30.9 million) package bond sold by Twin Falls and Jerome cities through Idaho Bond Bank. For the first phase of the new wastewater projects, Twin falls offered a bond of $38 million over the course of 20 years, while Jerome offered a 25-year bond of $13.6 million. According to Ms Riley, this is the largest bond sold through the bank since 1990.

Not only was the bond incredibly large, it also drew a number of investors, which resulted in bids with very competitive interest rates. This meant that the accepted bid offered the chance for a lot of money to be saved over the 25 years of the bond.

Twin Falls was awarded the better interest rate at 3.31 per cent, which was possible due to the shorter length of the bond. This means that over the course of 20 years, the city will pay a total amount of $18.3 million in interest. Ultimately, this could result in residents paying less for their water and wastewater treatment as a result of the the new project costing less in the long run.

Due to the type of bond sale that went through, the city has not had to put $3.5 million in a debt reserve fund. This fund was usually be created to provide investors with payment protection. However, the extra money available means that the city with have more leeway with the delivery of the new wastewater project. 

The sale of the bond will see the new project delivered that will improve the treatment and delivery systems that are in place for Twin Falls' water and wastewater.