MARYVILLE REGIONAL STP - Alcoa, Tennessee Wastewater Treatment Plant

MARYVILLE REGIONAL STP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located in Alcoa, Tennessee, within Blount County. The plant serves a population of around 40,423 residents, placing it in the medium agglomeration category for US facilities. Its location near the Little Tennessee River positions it within the broader Tennessee River basin, which ultimately drains to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. As a US facility, the plant operates under the Clean Water Act and is subject to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting. For a plant serving this population size, secondary treatment is the minimum standard, with potential nutrient removal requirements depending on the receiving water body's sensitivity. Typical facilities of this scale employ activated sludge or similar biological treatment. The plant's discharge enters the Tennessee River watershed, a major tributary of the Ohio River. This waterway supports diverse aquatic life, including several species of freshwater mussels and fish. Downstream, the Tennessee River flows into the Ohio River and eventually the Mississippi River, making the plant's effluent quality important for regional water quality management.

The plant discharges into the Tennessee River watershed, which flows through East Tennessee before joining the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky. The Tennessee River system is ecologically significant, supporting diverse aquatic habitats including mussel beds and fish spawning areas. Downstream, the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers carry the combined flows to the Gulf of Mexico, where nutrient loading from upstream sources can contribute to hypoxic zones.