Overview
Millsboro STP serves 2,740 people in Millsboro, Delaware. The plant is located within 50 km of the coast and has a designed capacity of 1.00 million gallons per day.
Millsboro STP is a municipal wastewater treatment plant serving the town of Millsboro in Sussex County, Delaware. The facility is designed to treat wastewater from a population of approximately 2,740 residents, reflecting a small community scale typical of rural coastal areas in the Mid-Atlantic region. As a plant in the United States, Millsboro STP operates under the Clean Water Act, administered by the EPA and likely permitted through Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC). The plant's treated effluent is discharged into local waterways that ultimately drain to the Atlantic Ocean via the Delaware Bay or Inland Bays. The region's coastal watersheds support diverse aquatic life and are important for recreational fishing and tourism, making effective wastewater treatment critical to maintaining water quality.
Environmental context
Millsboro STP discharges into the Indian River or its tributaries, which flow into the Indian River Bay, a coastal lagoon connected to the Atlantic Ocean. The Inland Bays system is ecologically sensitive, supporting seagrass beds, shellfish, and migratory birds. Nutrient loading from wastewater can contribute to algal blooms and hypoxia, so treatment standards are designed to protect these estuarine habitats.
Frequently asked questions
Millsboro STP is located at 361 East State Street in Millsboro, Sussex County, Delaware, United States.
The plant serves approximately 2,740 people in the Millsboro area.
The plant discharges treated effluent into local waterways that drain to the Indian River Bay, a coastal lagoon connected to the Atlantic Ocean.
As a U.S. facility, Millsboro STP operates under the Clean Water Act and is regulated by the EPA and likely the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) through an NPDES permit.
For small communities of this size, secondary treatment is the standard requirement under the Clean Water Act, which typically involves biological processes to reduce organic matter and suspended solids.
Nearby plants