Richardson Acres Lagoon Wastewater Treatment Plant, Boone County, Missouri

Richardson Acres Lagoon is a wastewater treatment facility located in Boone County, Missouri, United States. The plant serves a small population of approximately 50 residents, reflecting its role as a local-scale treatment system for a rural or suburban community. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment process required under the U.S. Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater. With a designed capacity of 22.71 megaliters and an annual discharge volume of 18.93 megaliters, the facility operates within its capacity. As a small lagoon system, it likely uses stabilization ponds to treat wastewater before discharge. The treated effluent is discharged into local waterways that ultimately drain into the Missouri River watershed. This river system flows into the Mississippi River and then to the Gulf of Mexico, making the plant's operations part of a larger regional water quality context. Proper treatment helps protect downstream aquatic ecosystems and recreational water uses.

The plant's discharge enters a tributary of the Missouri River, which flows into the Mississippi River and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life and provides habitat for migratory fish species. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient and organic loads, mitigating potential impacts on downstream water quality and the hypoxic zone in the Gulf.