CEDAR SPRINGS STP - Oakfield Township, Michigan Wastewater Treatment Plant

CEDAR SPRINGS STP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located in Oakfield Township, Kent County, Michigan, United States. The plant serves a population of approximately 3,112 residents, classifying it as a small community system under U.S. EPA guidelines. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the minimum level required by the Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater facilities in the United States. With a design capacity of 1,514.16 thousand cubic meters per year and an annual discharge volume of 870.65 thousand cubic meters, the plant operates below its designed capacity, indicating room for future growth or seasonal flow variations. The treated effluent is discharged into a local water body that ultimately drains into the Grand River watershed, which flows into Lake Michigan. As part of the Great Lakes Basin, the plant's operations are subject to stringent regulations to protect the sensitive freshwater ecosystem of the Great Lakes.

The plant discharges into a tributary of the Grand River, which flows westward through Michigan and empties into Lake Michigan at Grand Haven. Lake Michigan is part of the Great Lakes system, the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total area. The watershed supports diverse aquatic life, including fish species such as lake trout and whitefish, and provides drinking water for millions. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient loads that could contribute to algal blooms in the lake.