General obligation bonds help Hilton Head
Attorneys at Pope Zeigler were approached by a Lowcountry water district about the prospects of borrowing money to build a reverse osmosis water treatment facility. The plant was needed to replace water supply being lost to the effects of saltwater intrusion into the district’s main deep-water aquifer.
Reverse osmosis is a molecular filtration treatment system for drinking water. The procedure involves forcing the untreated (brackish) water through a thick membrane that removes ions, salt and other dissolved solids.
Given the public need for potable water, Pope Zeigler advised the district to issue general obligation bonds to pay for the reverse osmosis facility. It was the district’s first such borrowing. The reverse osmosis facility was constructed with the proceeds of the borrowing and became operational in 2009. Afterwards, the district has issued an additional series of general obligation bonds and plans to continue to update the reverse osmosis facility as additional deep-water aquifers are lost to saltwater intrusion.