MERIDIAN POTW - Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant in Meridian, Mississippi

MERIDIAN POTW is a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) located in Meridian, Lauderdale County, Mississippi. The plant serves an estimated population of 45,662, placing it in the medium-sized agglomeration category for US wastewater infrastructure. As a US municipal plant, MERIDIAN POTW operates under the Clean Water Act and is subject to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. For a plant of this scale, secondary treatment is the minimum standard required by federal regulations, with additional nutrient controls potentially applicable depending on the receiving water body's sensitivity. The plant's treated effluent discharges into the local watershed, which ultimately drains into the Gulf of Mexico via the Pascagoula River basin. This downstream connection to the Gulf underscores the plant's role in protecting both local water quality and the broader marine ecosystem from nutrient pollution and other contaminants.

The plant's discharge enters the Pascagoula River system, which flows southward through Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life, including fish and migratory species, and is ecologically sensitive to nutrient loading. The Gulf of Mexico's hypoxic zone, influenced by nutrient inputs from multiple rivers, highlights the importance of effective wastewater treatment in inland plants like MERIDIAN POTW.