MTN WD Phelps_Freeburn STP | Freeburn, Kentucky Wastewater Treatment Plant

MTN WD Phelps_Freeburn STP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located on River Road in Freeburn, Pike County, Kentucky. The plant serves a population of approximately 1,112 residents in this Appalachian community, operating under the regulatory framework of the U.S. Clean Water Act. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard level required by the EPA for municipal wastewater facilities. With a designed capacity of 946.35 m³/day and an average discharge volume of 605.67 m³/day, the plant operates at about 64% capacity, indicating adequate headroom for current demand. As a U.S. facility, it operates under an NPDES permit issued by the Kentucky Division of Water, which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. The treated effluent is discharged into a local receiving water body, likely a tributary of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River, which flows into the Ohio River and ultimately the Mississippi River. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life and provides drinking water for downstream communities. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce organic pollutants and suspended solids, protecting the ecological health of the regional river system.

The plant discharges into a tributary of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River, part of the Ohio River basin. This watershed drains the Appalachian coalfields and supports aquatic species such as smallmouth bass and freshwater mussels. The secondary treatment process reduces biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids, mitigating impacts on downstream water quality and the broader Mississippi River ecosystem.