ETTRICK WWTP - Advanced Wastewater Treatment in Ettrick, Wisconsin

ETTRICK WWTP is an advanced wastewater treatment plant located in Ettrick, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin. Serving a small population of 435, the facility is part of the municipal infrastructure for this rural community in the Upper Midwest. The plant employs advanced treatment processes, which go beyond secondary treatment to remove nutrients and other pollutants. With a designed capacity of 242.27 units and a current discharge volume of 90.85 units, the plant operates well within its capacity. Under the US Clean Water Act, such facilities are regulated through National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, ensuring compliance with water quality standards. The treated effluent is discharged into a local water body that ultimately drains into the Mississippi River basin. The plant's advanced treatment helps protect downstream aquatic ecosystems, including the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, by reducing nutrient loads that can contribute to hypoxia zones.

The plant discharges into a tributary of the Trempealeau River, which flows into the Mississippi River near the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. The Mississippi River carries the effluent southward to the Gulf of Mexico. The region supports diverse aquatic life, including fish and migratory birds, and the plant's advanced treatment helps minimize nutrient pollution that could affect downstream water quality and contribute to the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone.