Hanksville Wastewater Treatment Plant, Utah | Secondary Treatment Facility

The Hanksville wastewater treatment plant is located in Hanksville, Wayne County, Utah, serving a small population of 219 residents. As a municipal facility in a rural desert setting, it plays a key role in managing local wastewater in this remote area of the Colorado Plateau. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment process required under the U.S. Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater. With a designed capacity of 170.34 units and an average discharge volume of 155.20 units, the facility operates within its capacity. The plant is regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program, administered by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. The treated effluent is discharged into the local watershed, which ultimately drains into the Colorado River system via the Fremont River and the Dirty Devil River. This waterway supports arid-zone aquatic life and is part of the larger Colorado River Basin, a critical water resource for the southwestern United States. The plant's operations help protect downstream water quality in this ecologically sensitive region.

The plant discharges into the Fremont River, a tributary of the Dirty Devil River, which flows into the Colorado River and eventually to the Gulf of California. The Colorado River Basin supports diverse aquatic species and is a vital water source for agriculture and cities in the arid Southwest. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient and organic loads, protecting the fragile desert stream ecosystem downstream.