You know that feeling when you bring home a straight-A report card? 

That’s the feeling our Finance team had when two top credit rating agencies, Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global, gave Denver Water the coveted “triple-A credit rating” in advance of a September bond sale that brought in net proceeds of $295 million. The sale closed Oct. 8. 

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The agencies also confirmed the triple-A rating on Denver Water’s existing, outstanding debt.

“We’re proud of the work our finance team — and all of our people who work together to provide clean, safe water to 1.5 million people — have done to ensure Denver Water continues to be strong financially and on behalf of our customers, and glad that our efforts are reflected in the affirmation of our triple-A credit rating,” said Denver Water Chief Finance Officer Angela Bricmont. 

The high credit ratings mean savings for Denver Water customers in the form of lower interest rates, Bricmont noted. 

The top-tier ratings also reflect the agencies’ view of Denver Water. 

“Credit rating agencies are looking at the entire organization, and investors are looking for a strong, stable organization because they carry lower financial risk,” Bricmont said.

Read about Denver Water’s 2025 rates, and the $1.8 billion investment the utility is making into the large, complex system that delivers water for about 25% of Colorado’s population.

And Denver Water’s sale drew tremendous interest, with 78 potential buyers who collectively ordered $1.7 billion in Denver Water bonds, far more than the utility's original offer of $254 million available to buy. 

Due to so many investors clamoring for the chance to buy the bonds, Denver Water and its advisors were able to negotiate $1.55 million in savings on interest payments over the lifetime of the bonds. 

The utility also tucked proceeds from the sale into a 90-day escrow account, where it’s expected to net about $1 million in interest — money that will be used to offset debt payments, also saving money. And some of the proceeds will be used to refund existing bonds, saving the utility about $205,000 in annual debt payments. 

“It’s all the little things we were able to do to save money, because every dollar counts,” said Denver Water Treasurer Leila Kleats.

Money from the September bond sale will support the utility’s ongoing investment into its system. Bond sales are part of Denver Water’s overall finance strategy, a strategy designed to support the complex system that provides clean, safe drinking water to about 25% of Colorado’s population every day, and do so while keeping rates as low as good service will allow. 

You can read about Denver Water’s 2025 rates — and learn more about how we recently completed a new treatment plant, are replacing customers’ old lead service lines, expanding a key reservoir and helping our community create climate-resilient landscapes — in this TAP story. 

Denver Water has long had a proactive approach to maintaining and improving its vast network of dams, pipes, canals and treatment plants — and planning ahead for the future.

And that work extends to the financial side of the utility. 

Denver Water doesn’t receive tax dollars or make a profit. Its infrastructure projects, day-to-day operations and emergency expenses, like water main breaks, are funded by a mixture of water rates, bond sales, cash reserves, hydropower sales and fees for new service (called System Development Charges).

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In addition to affirming Denver Water’s triple-A credit rating, both agencies also indicated the utility has a stable financial outlook, indicating the agencies’ experts believe Denver Water is financially strong and able to repay the investors who purchased its bonds. 

Moody’s, in its report, cited Denver Water’s strong financial management practices and its growing, large and diverse service area as reasons for its top-tier credit rating. S&P emphasized similar strengths, noting a growing economy across the metro area and “strong operational and financial policies” at Denver Water.

Join Denver Water’s team and support this community, at denverwater.org/Careers.

And Denver Water’s long-term approach to maintaining its system and meeting future challenges has been noticed by others in the industry. The utility’s bond sale was part of a September story from “The Bond Buyer,” a publication that covers the municipal bond industry, about the sale of nearly $2 billion of triple-A-rated debt from water agencies in Southwest states.

And in that story, Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics, which has been monitoring climate change risk disclosure by issuers said, “Denver Water is perhaps the most sophisticated borrower in our market as far as considering and planning for the impacts of climate change.

"An exceptionally long view by management should be rewarded by investors."