CHUNKY POTW - Newton County, Mississippi Wastewater Treatment Plant

CHUNKY POTW is a publicly owned treatment works located in Newton County, Mississippi, serving a small population of 344 residents. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard level required by the US Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater facilities of this scale. The plant has a designed capacity of 113.56 million gallons per year and currently discharges 75.71 million gallons per year, indicating operational capacity below design. As a US facility, it operates under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. The treated effluent is discharged into local waterways within the Pearl River basin, which ultimately drains to the Gulf of Mexico. The plant's location inland and away from the coast reduces direct marine impact, but its discharge contributes to the overall nutrient and pollutant load in the watershed, affecting downstream aquatic ecosystems.

The plant discharges into the Pearl River basin, which flows through central Mississippi and Louisiana before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. The watershed supports diverse aquatic life, including fish and freshwater mussels, and is an important migratory corridor for birds. Downstream, the Pearl River estuary provides critical nursery habitat for marine species.