Hague Lagoon Wastewater Treatment Plant, Hague, North Dakota

Hague Lagoon is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located in Hague, North Dakota, a small community in Emmons County. The plant serves a population of 71 and operates as a lagoon-based secondary treatment system, typical for rural communities in the Great Plains region. The plant has a designed capacity of 75.71 m³/day and currently discharges 37.85 m³/day, indicating it operates below capacity. As a secondary treatment facility, it meets the minimum requirements under the US Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater treatment, which mandates secondary treatment for all publicly owned treatment works. The treated effluent is discharged into local waterways that drain into the Missouri River watershed, ultimately reaching the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The plant plays a key role in protecting local water quality in the semi-arid North Dakota landscape, where surface water resources are limited and sensitive to nutrient loading.

The plant discharges into the Missouri River basin, which flows through the Great Plains and eventually joins the Mississippi River. The downstream environment includes the Missouri River ecosystem, which supports diverse aquatic life and provides critical habitat for migratory birds. Nutrient management is important in this region to prevent eutrophication in downstream reservoirs and the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone.