Fulton WWTP - Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant in Fulton, Arkansas

Fulton WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located on West Jefferson Street in Fulton, Arkansas, a small community in Hempstead County. The facility serves a population of 201 and operates under secondary treatment standards, which is the minimum required by the US Clean Water Act for municipal plants of this scale. The plant has a designed capacity of 189.27 million gallons per day and currently discharges 3.79 million gallons per day, indicating significant excess capacity. As a US facility, it operates under an EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment, which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. The treated effluent is discharged to a local water body that ultimately drains into the Red River basin, which flows south to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The plant's secondary treatment process reduces organic pollutants and suspended solids, helping to protect downstream aquatic ecosystems in this predominantly rural and agricultural region.

The plant discharges into a tributary of the Red River, which flows through Arkansas and Louisiana before joining the Mississippi River and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. The Red River basin supports diverse aquatic life and is an important migratory corridor for birds. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient loading and organic pollution, which is critical for maintaining water quality in this ecologically sensitive watershed.