Overview
Irondale WWTP is a secondary treatment plant serving about 500 people in Birmingham, Alabama. It discharges 151.42 thousand cubic meters of treated wastewater annually.
Irondale WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It serves a small population of approximately 500 residents, reflecting its role as a local-scale treatment plant within the Jefferson County area. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard level required under the U.S. Clean Water Act for municipal facilities. With a designed capacity of 3,785.40 thousand cubic meters per year and an actual discharge volume of 151.42 thousand cubic meters, the plant operates well below its capacity, indicating ample headroom for future growth or seasonal variations. The treated effluent is discharged into a local waterway that ultimately drains into the Black Warrior River basin, part of the larger Mobile River system that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. This downstream connection underscores the plant's role in protecting regional water quality and aquatic habitats.
Environmental context
The plant discharges into a tributary of the Black Warrior River, which flows through Alabama and joins the Tombigbee River to form the Mobile River, emptying into Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life, including fish and mussel species, and is an important ecological corridor in the southeastern United States.
Frequently asked questions
Irondale WWTP is located on Jones Industrial Road in the McCombs area of Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States.
The plant serves approximately 500 people, making it a small-scale municipal wastewater treatment facility.
The plant discharges treated effluent into a local waterway that flows into the Black Warrior River basin, part of the Mobile River system leading to the Gulf of Mexico.
Irondale WWTP provides secondary treatment, which is the standard required under the U.S. Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater plants.
As a U.S. facility, Irondale WWTP operates under the Clean Water Act's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, which sets discharge limits to protect water quality.
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