Heard County Water Authority | Franklin, Georgia Wastewater Treatment Plant

Heard County Water Authority operates a municipal wastewater treatment plant located on Sewage Plant Road in Riverside, near Franklin, Georgia. The facility serves a population of approximately 948 people in Heard County, providing essential sanitation services to this rural community in west-central Georgia. The plant provides secondary treatment, a standard level required by the US Clean Water Act for municipal facilities of this scale. With a designed capacity of 605.66 cubic meters per day and a current discharge volume of 378.54 cubic meters per day, the plant operates below its capacity, indicating room for future growth. As a US facility, it operates under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. The treated effluent is discharged into local streams that flow into the Chattahoochee River basin, ultimately reaching the Gulf of Mexico via the Apalachicola River. The plant plays a key role in protecting the water quality of these downstream water bodies, which support diverse aquatic life and provide recreational and drinking water resources for the region.

The plant discharges into tributaries of the Chattahoochee River, which flows south to form the Apalachicola River and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. This watershed supports diverse aquatic ecosystems, including fish and mussel species, and provides drinking water for downstream communities. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient and organic pollutant loads, protecting the ecological health of the river system.