Leonardville WWTP - Secondary Treatment Plant in Leonardville, Kansas

Leonardville WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Leonardville, Kansas, a small community in Riley County. The facility serves a population of 284 residents, providing essential sanitation services for the town. The plant employs secondary treatment, a standard biological process that removes organic matter and suspended solids. With a designed capacity of 158.99 million gallons per day and an average discharge volume of 105.99 million gallons per day, it operates at approximately 67% capacity. As a US facility, it is subject to the Clean Water Act and likely operates under an NPDES permit issued by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. The treated effluent is discharged into local streams that drain into the Kansas River basin, ultimately reaching the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The plant plays a key role in protecting downstream aquatic ecosystems and maintaining water quality in the region.

The plant discharges into small tributaries of the Kansas River, which flows into the Missouri River and then the Mississippi River, eventually reaching the Gulf of Mexico. The local watershed supports diverse aquatic life and is part of the larger Mississippi River basin, an ecologically significant corridor for migratory fish and birds. Proper treatment helps prevent nutrient pollution that could contribute to hypoxia in the Gulf.