RIVERDALE STP - Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant in Buffalo County, Nebraska

RIVERDALE STP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located on 115th Road in rural Buffalo County, Nebraska. Serving a small population of 213 residents, the plant provides secondary treatment, which is the minimum standard required under the US Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater discharges. The plant has a designed capacity of 75.71 units and processes a similar daily discharge volume, indicating full utilization. As a small facility in the US Great Plains, it operates under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. Secondary treatment typically removes 85% of biochemical oxygen demand and suspended solids. The treated effluent is discharged to a local waterway within the Platte River basin, which flows eastward to the Missouri River and ultimately the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. The plant's location in an agricultural region means its discharge helps maintain local stream flows and supports downstream aquatic habitats.

The plant discharges into a tributary of the Platte River, a major waterway in Nebraska that supports diverse aquatic life and migratory birds along the Central Flyway. The Platte River flows into the Missouri River, which joins the Mississippi River and drains into the Gulf of Mexico. The plant's secondary treatment helps protect downstream water quality in this ecologically important river system.