MCGAHEYSVILLE STP andCS - Secondary Wastewater Treatment in Rockingham County, Virginia

MCGAHEYSVILLE STP andCS is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. The facility serves a small population of 460 residents, providing secondary treatment to remove organic matter and suspended solids from domestic wastewater. It operates as part of the region's decentralized wastewater infrastructure, handling a designed capacity of 707.87 thousand gallons per day. The plant employs secondary treatment, which is the standard level required under the U.S. Clean Water Act for municipal facilities of this scale. Secondary treatment typically involves biological processes such as activated sludge or trickling filters to reduce biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids. The plant's discharge volume averages 480.75 thousand gallons per day, indicating moderate utilization of its capacity. Treated effluent from the plant is discharged into local streams that drain into the Shenandoah River, a major tributary of the Potomac River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. The Shenandoah River watershed supports diverse aquatic life and is an important ecological corridor in the Appalachian region. The plant's operations help protect water quality in this sensitive watershed, which faces pressures from agricultural runoff and urban development.

The plant discharges into small streams within the Shenandoah River basin, which flows northward to join the Potomac River and eventually the Chesapeake Bay. The Shenandoah watershed is ecologically significant, supporting species such as smallmouth bass and freshwater mussels. Downstream, the Chesapeake Bay is a large estuary that relies on nutrient and sediment reductions from upstream treatment plants to maintain its health.