Lane Coimp Dist 1 WWTP - Healy, Kansas Wastewater Treatment Plant

Lane Coimp Dist 1 WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located on County Road 230 in Healy, Kansas, serving a small community of 353 residents. The plant operates as part of the rural infrastructure in Lane County, a sparsely populated agricultural region in the central United States. The facility provides secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment level required under the U.S. Clean Water Act for municipal plants. With a designed capacity of 128.70 volume units and an actual discharge volume of 113.56, the plant operates within its capacity. As a small-scale facility, it is subject to EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, which regulate effluent quality to protect receiving waters. The plant's treated effluent is discharged into local streams that drain into the Smoky Hill River basin, part of the larger Kansas River watershed. This system ultimately flows into the Missouri River and then the Mississippi River, contributing to the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. The plant plays a key role in preventing untreated sewage from entering these waterways, supporting water quality and aquatic life in the region.

The plant discharges into local tributaries of the Smoky Hill River, which flows through the semi-arid High Plains region of western Kansas. The river supports a variety of fish species and provides habitat for migratory birds. Downstream, the Smoky Hill River joins the Kansas River, which eventually reaches the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient and pathogen loads, protecting downstream water quality in this agriculturally intensive watershed.