Montgomery Township Riverside Farms STP - Secondary Wastewater Treatment in New Jersey

Montgomery Township Riverside Farms STP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located in Montgomery Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. The plant serves a population of approximately 1,216 residents and operates under the regulatory framework of the US Clean Water Act, which governs wastewater discharges through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The plant provides secondary treatment, a standard level required for most municipal facilities in the United States. With a designed capacity of 567.81 million gallons per year and an actual discharge volume of 386.11 million gallons per year, the facility operates below its design capacity. Secondary treatment typically involves biological processes to reduce organic matter and suspended solids. The treated effluent is discharged to a receiving water body within the Raritan River basin, which flows into Raritan Bay and eventually the Atlantic Ocean. The plant's location, about 50 km from the coast, means its discharge contributes to the health of downstream aquatic ecosystems, including estuarine habitats that support diverse fish and bird species.

The plant discharges into a tributary of the Raritan River, which flows through central New Jersey into Raritan Bay, an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. The Raritan River watershed supports diverse aquatic life, including migratory fish species such as American shad and striped bass. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient loading and organic pollutants, protecting downstream water quality in the ecologically sensitive Raritan Bay and coastal Atlantic waters.