The rating on Trinity River Authority, Texas' bonds, issued for Huntsville, reflects the city's obligation to make contract payments to the authority for debt service as an operating expense of the water and sewer system. Credit factors of the system include: * A stable local economy, * Adequate system operations, and * Strong liquidity. These factors are partially offset by the following: * Moderately high residential rates exacerbated by low area wealth, and * Pending capital needs. Huntsville, which is the seat of Walker County, is about 70 miles north of downtown Houston and is traversed by I-45. The economic base is stable, and there is a fairly large student population among the 35,000 residents (Sam Houston State University is
