Cucharas SWD Wastewater Treatment Plant, Stonewall, Colorado

Cucharas SWD is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Stonewall, Huerfano County, Colorado, United States. The facility serves a small population of approximately 1,400 residents in this rural community along the Highway of Legends scenic byway. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard level required under the U.S. Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater facilities. With a designed capacity of 189.27 cubic meters per day, it operates at full capacity based on reported discharge volume. As a small inland facility, it is not subject to the more stringent nutrient removal requirements that apply to larger plants discharging to sensitive waters. The treated effluent from Cucharas SWD is discharged to a local watercourse that ultimately drains into the Arkansas River basin. This region of southern Colorado features headwater streams that support cold-water fisheries and provide irrigation water for agriculture in the Arkansas Valley. The plant's secondary treatment helps protect these downstream water resources from organic pollution.

Cucharas SWD discharges into a tributary of the Cucharas River, which flows into the Arkansas River and eventually the Mississippi River system. The local watershed supports diverse aquatic life, including trout species in the upper reaches. The plant's secondary treatment reduces biochemical oxygen demand and suspended solids, protecting downstream water quality for agricultural and ecological uses in the Arkansas Valley.