Fillmore WWTF - Wastewater Treatment Plant in Fillmore, Missouri

Fillmore WWTF (Wastewater Treatment Facility) is a municipal plant located on North Walnut Street in Fillmore, Andrew County, Missouri. Serving a small population of 211, it is a minor facility within the state's wastewater infrastructure, handling domestic sewage from the rural community. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard level required by the U.S. Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater. Its designed capacity is 136.27 million gallons per year, with an actual discharge volume of 56.78 million gallons per year, indicating operational headroom. As a U.S. facility, it operates under an EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, ensuring compliance with effluent limits. The treated effluent is discharged to a local waterway, likely a tributary of the Missouri River system, which ultimately drains to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The plant plays a role in protecting downstream water quality in the Missouri River basin, supporting aquatic life and recreational uses.

The plant's discharge enters a small stream within the Missouri River watershed, which flows into the Missouri River and then the Mississippi River, reaching the Gulf of Mexico. The downstream environment includes agricultural and rural areas, where nutrient loading from wastewater can contribute to algal blooms and hypoxia in the Gulf. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce organic pollutants and suspended solids, but does not specifically target nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, which are of concern for downstream ecosystems.