PRENTICE STP - Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant in Town of Prentice, Wisconsin

PRENTICE STP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located on Granberg Road in the Town of Prentice, Price County, Wisconsin. The plant serves a small population of 625 residents, providing essential sanitation services for this rural community in the northern part of the state. The facility operates at the secondary treatment level, which is the standard required by the U.S. Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater plants. With a designed capacity of 378.54 megaliters per year and an actual discharge volume of 253.62 megaliters per year, the plant has adequate capacity to handle current flows. As a U.S. facility, it operates under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, ensuring compliance with federal and state water quality standards. The treated effluent from PRENTICE STP is discharged into nearby streams that are part of the Upper Wisconsin River watershed. This region ultimately drains into the Wisconsin River and then the Mississippi River, supporting diverse aquatic life and recreational uses downstream. The plant's secondary treatment helps protect these water bodies from nutrient pollution and pathogens.

The plant discharges into local tributaries of the Upper Wisconsin River basin, which flows southward to the Wisconsin River and eventually the Mississippi River. This watershed supports a variety of fish species and provides habitat for migratory birds. The secondary treatment process reduces organic matter and suspended solids, helping maintain water quality in this ecologically sensitive region.