If you happened to drive past Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina sometime in the past couple of weeks, you probably spotted a massive, $2.8 million-dollar bong being erected.

Just kidding. It’s not actually a bong. It’s a new water tower for the Outer Bank town’s swelling population of 6,600 residents. But on casual inspection, it certainly looks like a giant “water pipe.” Currently, the project appears to boast a bubble base, a long ice chamber, and stem just waiting to get loaded with the world’s biggest bowl of weed.

“Breaking news: Kill Devil Hills builds the world’s biggest bong,” wrote the Kitty Hawk Watersports Facebook page. “I can’t be the only person who sees this.”

But North Carolina is one of the few US states where marijuana remains illegal AF. In fact, the Old North State doesn’t even have medical cannabis on the books, so what gives?

According to the city of Kill Devil Hills, the new water tower’s smoked-out look is temporary . The “bubble base” at the bottom is the storage tank typically found on the tops of water towers. For easier painting and sealing, the construction team is keeping the tank down below. Once the tower is complete sometime by the end of November , the 40,000-gallon tank will be hoisted to the top, making the tower no longer resemble a bong.

Had the Kill Devil Hills water tower remained in its current configuration, it could qualify as the world’s largest bong-like structure, standing at 160 feet in height. Compare that to what could be the most ambitious giant-bong-structure project currently being considered in Woodenbong, Australia , which would only reach 50 feet in height if completed.

The new water tower-pipe project first appeared on a Reddit group a couple of weeks ago with the subject line, “Our town installing our new community water pipe right next to the water tower so we can have fresh water when the pipe needs to be cleaned. The town planners are on point.”

One Reddit user immediately commented, "GET OUT OF MY STORE THESE ARE FOR TOBACCO USE ONLY.”