Highfield Acres Lagoon Wastewater Treatment Plant, Boone County, Missouri

Highfield Acres Lagoon is a wastewater treatment facility located in Boone County, Missouri, serving a small population of 162 residents. The plant provides secondary treatment, a standard level for small communities in the United States, ensuring that effluent meets basic environmental standards before discharge. As a secondary treatment plant, Highfield Acres Lagoon utilizes biological processes to break down organic matter, reducing pollutants such as biochemical oxygen demand and suspended solids. The plant has a designed capacity of 109.78 volume units and currently handles a discharge volume of 60.57, indicating operational headroom. Under the U.S. Clean Water Act, such facilities operate under National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, which set effluent limits and monitoring requirements. The treated effluent from Highfield Acres Lagoon is discharged into local streams that flow into the Missouri River watershed, ultimately reaching the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. This connection underscores the plant's role in protecting downstream aquatic ecosystems and maintaining water quality in a major river basin.

The plant discharges into tributaries of the Missouri River, which flows into the Mississippi River and then the Gulf of Mexico. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life and provides habitat for migratory fish species. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient loading, which is critical for preventing hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.