McKean Twp STP - Advanced Wastewater Treatment in Fairview Township, Pennsylvania

McKean Twp STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) is located at 6933 Sterrettania Road in Fairview Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania. This facility serves a small population of 420 residents and is situated within 10 kilometers of the Lake Erie shoreline, placing it in a coastal-sensitive zone. The plant employs advanced treatment processes, exceeding the secondary treatment standard required by the US Clean Water Act. With a designed capacity of 340.69 thousand gallons per day and a current discharge volume of 302.83 thousand gallons per day, it operates at a high utilization rate. As a US facility, it is regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The treated effluent from McKean Twp STP ultimately drains into Lake Erie, part of the Great Lakes system. Lake Erie supports diverse aquatic life and provides drinking water for millions. The plant's advanced treatment helps protect this ecologically sensitive freshwater resource from nutrient pollution and other contaminants.

The plant discharges into the Lake Erie watershed, which flows through the Niagara River into Lake Ontario and eventually the St. Lawrence River and Atlantic Ocean. Lake Erie is the shallowest and most biologically productive of the Great Lakes, supporting important fisheries and migratory bird populations. The region's coastal wetlands provide critical habitat, and the lake is vulnerable to algal blooms from nutrient loading, making advanced treatment essential.