Hill City WWTP - Secondary Treatment Plant in Hill City, Kansas

Hill City WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Hill City, Graham County, Kansas. The facility serves a population of approximately 1,437 people, reflecting a small community in the central Great Plains region. The plant is situated on Summers Lane and operates as part of the city's public infrastructure. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard level required for municipal wastewater in the United States under the Clean Water Act. Secondary treatment typically involves biological processes to reduce organic matter and suspended solids. The plant has a designed capacity of 798.72 units (likely thousand gallons per day) and a reported discharge volume of 605.67 units, indicating it operates below its design capacity. Treated effluent from the plant is discharged into local streams that eventually drain into the Solomon River, a tributary of the Smoky Hill River, which flows into the Kansas River and ultimately the Mississippi River system. This watershed supports agricultural land use and provides habitat for aquatic species. The plant's operations are regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program administered by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

The plant discharges into local waterways that are part of the Solomon River basin, which flows into the Smoky Hill River, then the Kansas River, and eventually the Mississippi River. This watershed drains the semi-arid plains of north-central Kansas, supporting agricultural irrigation and livestock operations. The receiving waters provide habitat for native fish species such as channel catfish and plains minnow, and are part of a larger migratory corridor for waterfowl. The region's low annual rainfall and high evaporation rates make water quality management critical for maintaining aquatic ecosystem health.