Leesburg Canal Street WWTF - Wastewater Treatment Plant in Leesburg, Florida

Leesburg Canal Street WWTF is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located at 608 North Canal Street in Leesburg, Florida. The plant serves a population of approximately 19,193 residents in the Lake County area, classifying it as a medium-sized agglomeration under U.S. regulatory standards. As a U.S. facility, the plant operates under the Clean Water Act and is subject to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. For a plant serving this population, secondary treatment is typically required, with additional nutrient removal standards applicable in sensitive watersheds like those draining to the St. Johns River or Lake Okeechobee basin. The plant's treated effluent is discharged into the local watershed, which ultimately drains to the Ocklawaha River and then the St. Johns River, a major waterway flowing north to the Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville. The St. Johns River supports diverse aquatic life and is an important ecological and recreational resource for Florida.

The plant discharges into the Ocklawaha River basin, a tributary of the St. Johns River. The St. Johns River is a blackwater river that flows through extensive floodplain wetlands and supports a variety of fish, birds, and aquatic plants. Downstream, the river enters the Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville, where estuarine habitats are sensitive to nutrient loading and pollutant inputs from upstream sources.