Finley Lagoon Wastewater Treatment Plant, Finley, North Dakota

Finley Lagoon is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located in Finley, Steele County, North Dakota. The plant serves a population of approximately 445 residents, providing essential sanitation services for this small rural community. As a lagoon-based system, it relies on natural biological processes to treat wastewater before discharge. The plant operates at the secondary treatment level, which is the standard required by the U.S. Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater facilities. With a designed capacity of 227,120 gallons per day and an actual discharge volume of 227,130 gallons per day, the facility operates near its full capacity. This indicates that the plant is effectively utilizing its treatment infrastructure to meet the community's needs. The treated effluent from Finley Lagoon is discharged into local surface waters, which eventually drain into the Red River of the North basin. This watershed flows northward into Lake Winnipeg in Canada, making the plant's performance important for downstream water quality. The facility plays a key role in protecting the region's aquatic ecosystems and ensuring compliance with federal and state environmental regulations.

Finley Lagoon discharges into the Red River of the North basin, which flows north through North Dakota and Minnesota into Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life and is an important migratory corridor for waterfowl. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient loads and organic pollutants, protecting downstream water quality in this ecologically sensitive prairie river system.