Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky (SD1) will save $31.2 million over the next 22 years by refinancing bonds used for major capital improvements to the region’s sewage storage and conveyance systems.
The SD1 Board of Directors unanimously approved the move to refinance the bonds, which will reduce SD1’s debt obligation by more than $1.6 million each year beginning in 2018. Similar to a refinanced home mortgage, the savings through the bond refinancing stems from reduced interest rates.
“SD1 employees are always looking for ways to control costs without sacrificing the high quality of service we strive to provide. This move does just that while freeing up funding for other needs,” said Mark Wurschmidt, SD1’s interim executive director.
The refinanced bonds were originally issued in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
They helped fund major improvements that added capacity to the sewer system, including an 8.5-foot wide, 6-mile long tunnel that can store up to 14 million gallons of sewage during wet weather. The tunnel was a key project in a series of improvements that, altogether, reduced sanitary sewer overflows by almost 60 million gallons each year.
