Edmore Lagoon Wastewater Treatment Plant, Edmore, North Dakota

Edmore Lagoon is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located in Edmore, Ramsey County, North Dakota. Serving a small population of 182 residents, the plant provides secondary treatment, which is the minimum standard for municipal wastewater under the US Clean Water Act. The facility's designed capacity matches its current discharge volume of 113.56 megaliters per year, indicating stable operation. As a secondary treatment plant, Edmore Lagoon uses biological processes to reduce organic matter and suspended solids before discharge. The plant is regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. For small communities like Edmore, lagoon systems are common due to their cost-effectiveness and low energy requirements. The treated effluent from Edmore Lagoon enters the local drainage network, which flows into the Red River Basin and ultimately reaches Lake Winnipeg in Canada. The Red River Valley is a flat, agricultural region where nutrient loading from wastewater can contribute to algal blooms in downstream water bodies. The plant's secondary treatment helps mitigate this risk by reducing biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids.

Edmore Lagoon discharges into the Red River Basin, which drains northward through Manitoba into Lake Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is a large, shallow lake prone to eutrophication from nutrient inputs, including phosphorus and nitrogen from agricultural runoff and wastewater. The secondary treatment at Edmore Lagoon reduces organic pollutants but does not specifically target nutrients, making the downstream environment sensitive to cumulative impacts from multiple sources in the basin.