Herndon WWTP - Secondary Wastewater Treatment in Herndon, Kansas

Herndon WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located in Herndon, Rawlins County, Kansas, serving a small population of 135 residents. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment process required for most municipal wastewater in the United States under the Clean Water Act. The plant has a designed capacity of 128.70 million gallons per year and currently discharges 56.78 million gallons annually, indicating it operates well below its capacity. As a small facility in rural Kansas, it is subject to state-level NPDES permitting under the authority of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. The treated effluent is discharged into a local water body that ultimately drains into the Republican River basin, part of the larger Missouri River watershed. This region supports agricultural activities and provides habitat for aquatic species. Proper treatment helps maintain water quality in downstream rivers and reservoirs.

The plant's discharge enters a tributary of the Republican River, which flows into the Missouri River and eventually the Mississippi River system. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life and is important for irrigation and recreation in the Great Plains. The secondary treatment process reduces organic pollutants and suspended solids, protecting downstream ecosystems from nutrient enrichment and oxygen depletion.