Ashdown WWTP | Wastewater Treatment Plant in Ashdown, Arkansas

Ashdown WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located at 248 West Commerce Street in Ashdown, Little River County, Arkansas. Serving a population of about 4,700, the plant is part of the city's infrastructure for managing domestic wastewater. As a small to medium-sized facility, it plays a key role in protecting public health and the environment in this region of southwestern Arkansas. Under the U.S. Clean Water Act, wastewater treatment plants of this scale are typically required to meet secondary treatment standards through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality oversees permitting and compliance for facilities like Ashdown WWTP. The plant is expected to provide at least secondary treatment to meet regulatory requirements for biological oxygen demand and total suspended solids. The plant discharges treated effluent to a receiving water body within the Red River basin, which ultimately flows into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. This downstream connection underscores the importance of effective treatment to prevent nutrient pollution and protect aquatic ecosystems. The facility's location inland, over 50 km from the coast, reduces direct marine discharge risks but still contributes to regional water quality in the Red River watershed.

Ashdown WWTP discharges into a tributary of the Red River, which flows south through Arkansas and Louisiana before emptying into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life and is an important migratory corridor for fish and birds. Effective treatment at the plant helps reduce nutrient loading and sediment pollution that could otherwise contribute to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.