Jackson Walker recently represented clients Acton Municipal Utility District and Johnson County Special Utility District in the acquisition of a Surface Water and Treatment System (SWATS) Plant from the Brazos River Authority.

The transaction included work with the clients and bond counsel to create a new public utility agency for purposes of financing the acquisition. Prior to the transaction, AMUD and JCSUD were two of four entities which purchased treated water from the plant. The plant is one of the largest in Texas that desalinates brackish water and is rated to treat 13 million gallons per day of water to potable standards using both conventional treatment and reverse osmosis technologies. The plant sources its raw water from Lake Granbury, which has relatively high concentrations of naturally occurring minerals, including total dissolved solids and chlorides.

In conjunction with the acquisition, Jackson Walker attorneys negotiated the terms of the acquisition and the closing, and also coordinated with bond counsel on creation of the public utility agency and the sale of tax-exempt bonds to support the acquisition and pay off existing debt held by the Brazos River Authority.