Benton STP - Wastewater Treatment Plant in Benton, Pennsylvania

Benton STP is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Benton, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, serving a population of approximately 1,509 residents. The plant provides secondary treatment, a standard level for small communities in the United States under the Clean Water Act. The plant has a designed capacity of 416.39 thousand gallons per day and currently discharges 302.83 thousand gallons per day. As a secondary treatment facility, it meets the minimum requirements for organic and suspended solids removal set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. The treated effluent is discharged into a local waterway that ultimately drains into the Susquehanna River basin, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay is a large estuary with significant ecological importance, supporting diverse aquatic life and migratory birds. The plant's discharge contributes to the overall nutrient load in the watershed, making its treatment level critical for downstream water quality.

The plant discharges into a tributary of the Susquehanna River, which flows south through Pennsylvania and Maryland into the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and is ecologically sensitive due to nutrient pollution that can cause algal blooms and hypoxic zones. The secondary treatment at Benton STP helps reduce organic pollutants but may not fully address nutrient removal, which is a key concern for the bay's health.