S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'AAA' rating and stable outlook to Cincinnati's series 2019A water system revenue bonds and 2019B water system refunding revenue bonds and affirmed its 'AAA' rating, with a stable outlook, on the city's existing water system debt. The rating reflects our opinion of the combination of exceptionally strong enterprise- and financial-risk profiles. The enterprise-risk profile reflects our opinion of the system's: Service-area participation in the broad and diverse Cincinnati metropolitan statistical area (MSA) economy, Very low industry risk as a monopolistic service provider of an essential public utility, Generally affordable rates benchmarked against Hamilton County's median household effective buying income and poverty rate, and Strong operational management practices and policies under our Operational Management Assessment methodology.
