OREANDA-NEWS. S&P Global Rating Services raised its long-term and underlying ratings to 'AAA' from 'AA+' on Clean Water Services (CWS), Ore.'s revenue bonds, issued for CWS' sewer system. At the same time, S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'AAA' long-term rating to CWS' series 2016 bonds. The outlook is stable.

"The raised rating reflects our view of the district's extremely strong historical financial performance, which we believe is sustainable, as the district has no additional debt needs until fiscal 2019, and scheduled debt service declines over the five-year forecast period," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Chloe Weil. "The district also maintains robust liquidity and reserves that include not just very high levels of unrestricted cash and investments, as well as a number of designated reserves for various potential contingencies.

CWS' service area includes about 561,000 residents in Washington County, as well as small portions of the cities of Portland and Lake Oswego, and Multnomah and Clackamas counties. Population growth within the district's service area has consistently outpaced population growth within the region during the past decade or more, and CWS is expected to add an additional 170,000 people by 2030.