PA CLARKS SUMMIT STATE HOSPITAL Wastewater Treatment Plant, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania

PA CLARKS SUMMIT STATE HOSPITAL is an advanced wastewater treatment facility located in Clarks Summit, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. The plant serves a population of 1,059 and is part of the municipal wastewater infrastructure for the state hospital campus. The plant operates with advanced treatment, which exceeds the secondary treatment standard required by the US Clean Water Act. Its designed capacity is 567.81 m³/day, and it currently discharges 529.96 m³/day, indicating it is operating below capacity. 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 is discharged into a local waterway that ultimately drains into the Susquehanna River basin and then to the Chesapeake Bay. The plant's advanced treatment helps protect downstream water quality in this ecologically significant watershed, which supports diverse aquatic life and is a major tributary to the Chesapeake Bay estuary.

The plant discharges into a receiving water body within the Susquehanna River basin, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and is ecologically sensitive to nutrient pollution. Advanced treatment at this plant helps reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loads, supporting the bay's restoration efforts and protecting habitats for fish, crabs, and migratory birds.