GRAHAM WWTP - Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant in Graham, Missouri

GRAHAM WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located on Mill Street in Graham, a small community in Nodaway County, Missouri. The plant serves a population of 169 and operates under secondary treatment, which is the standard level required by the US Clean Water Act for smaller communities to reduce organic pollutants and suspended solids before discharge. The plant's designed capacity is 113.56 thousand cubic meters per year, with an actual discharge volume of 75.71 thousand cubic meters per year, indicating it operates below its capacity. As a US facility, it is subject to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, which set effluent limits to protect water quality. The treated effluent from the plant is discharged into local waterways that are part of the Missouri River basin. The plant plays a role in protecting downstream aquatic ecosystems by reducing nutrient and pathogen loads, supporting the ecological health of streams and rivers in the region.

The plant discharges into local streams that flow into the Nodaway River, a tributary of the Missouri River. The Missouri River ultimately drains into the Mississippi River and then the Gulf of Mexico. The watershed supports diverse aquatic life, including fish species such as catfish and bass, and the plant's secondary treatment helps mitigate nutrient pollution that could contribute to hypoxia in the Gulf.