BRECKENRIDGE WWSL - Wheeler Township, Michigan Wastewater Treatment Plant

BRECKENRIDGE WWSL is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Wheeler Township, Gratiot County, Michigan. It serves a population of 1,289 residents in this rural community, providing essential sanitation services to the area. The plant employs secondary treatment, which is the standard required by the U.S. Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater facilities. With a designed capacity of 681.37 units and an average daily discharge of 454.25 units, the plant operates below its capacity, indicating room for future growth. As a U.S. facility, it operates under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. The treated effluent is discharged into local waterways that drain into the Saginaw River watershed, ultimately reaching Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron. This connection to the Great Lakes ecosystem underscores the plant's role in protecting downstream aquatic habitats and drinking water sources for communities along the Saginaw Bay.

The plant discharges into tributaries of the Saginaw River, which flows into Saginaw Bay, a large freshwater bay of Lake Huron. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life, including fish species such as walleye and yellow perch, and provides critical habitat for migratory waterfowl. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient and pollutant loads, protecting the bay's water quality and the ecological health of the Great Lakes system.