A San Diego County joint powers authority plans to issue $433.3 million in tax-exempt interim notes to provide construction financing for an advanced water purification project.
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Truist Securities is senior manager and J.P. Morgan is co-manager. The municipal advisor is CleanEnergyCapital and Best Best and Krieger is bond counsel and disclosure counsel.
Fitch Ratings assigned a AA rating ahead of the deal. The notes would have a two-year maturity.
The public agency was formed in 2019 through the execution of a JPA Agreement between Padre Dam Municipal Water District, San Diego County Sanitation District and the city of El Cajon.
The project would produce 30% of East San Diego County’s potable water supply when complete, according to an online roadshow. It would eliminate 15 million gallons/day of wastewater discharged in the Pacific Ocean and produce a reliable, local potable water supply at a cost competitive with imported water, according to the roadshow.
The debt would pay for construction of a portion of the East County advanced water purification project.
The East County AWP Project is a potable reuse project and is a collaborative effort among Padre Dam MWD, San Diego County, El Cajon, and Helix Water District.
Currently, a majority of East County’s wastewater flow is discharged into the San Diego regional collection system for treatment and disposal into the Pacific Ocean, according to its website.
Additionally, almost all of the drinking water in East County is imported from northern California and the Colorado River.
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The project would provide an alternative wastewater treatment system to minimize the financial impact of the projected increase in wastewater costs from the city of San Diego’s Metropolitan Wastewater System.
The JPA’s primary activities will be to treat wastewater provided by its members. The treatment process will create purified water, which the JPA will deliver to Helix and Padre Dam. Padre Dam is the administrator of the project.
The East County AWP Project will treat the East County’s wastewater locally and implement potable reuse by producing advanced treated water from an advanced water purification (AWP) facility, which will be pumped to Lake Jennings Reservoir, for surface water augmentation (SWA), where it will be mixed with other water owned by Helix. After SWA, the water will be sent to Helix’s R. M. Levy Water Treatment Plant to become potable water.
The AWP Project will treat the combined 16 mgd wastewater flow at the water recycling facility, producing 11.5 mgd of purified water at the AWP Facility. 10.3 mgd will be delivered to Lake Jennings Reservoir for SWA IPR and 1.2 mgd will be distributed to Padre Dam Title 22 recycled water customers. Retrofits/expansions of lift stations and a regional brine line will also be constructed. The AWP Project is expected to come online in 2025.
The JPA governs the AWP Project and consists of the three East County wastewater agencies (i.e., Padre Dam, the county, and El Cajon).
Carollo Engineers will provide management and administrative support, procurement support, professional engineering and technical assistance, information and data management planning, and future construction, start-up, and commissioning support services.