HICKORY POTW - Newton County, Mississippi Wastewater Treatment Plant

HICKORY POTW is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Newton County, Mississippi, United States. The facility serves a small population of 655 residents, reflecting its role as a local-scale treatment infrastructure in a rural area of the state. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard level required under the U.S. Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater facilities. With a designed capacity of 340.69 megaliters and an annual discharge volume of 189.27 megaliters, the plant operates well within its capacity, ensuring effective treatment of the community's wastewater. The treated effluent is discharged into local waterways that ultimately drain into the Gulf of Mexico via the Pearl River basin. The plant's operations help protect downstream aquatic ecosystems and maintain water quality in the region's surface waters.

The plant discharges into tributaries of the Pearl River, which flows southward through Mississippi and Louisiana before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. The Pearl River basin supports diverse aquatic life, including fish and freshwater mussels, and provides habitat for migratory birds. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient and pollutant loads, protecting downstream water quality in this ecologically important watershed.