RUTLAND LAGOON Wastewater Treatment Plant, Rutland, Iowa

RUTLAND LAGOON is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located in Rutland, a small town in Humboldt County, Iowa. The plant serves a population of approximately 145 residents, reflecting its role in a rural community. As a secondary treatment plant, it provides biological treatment to reduce organic matter and suspended solids before discharge. The plant operates under the U.S. Clean Water Act, which requires National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for all point source discharges. For small agglomerations like Rutland, secondary treatment is the standard requirement to protect water quality. The plant's designed capacity of 113.56 cubic meters per day and actual discharge volume of 151.42 cubic meters per day indicate it operates near or slightly above its design capacity. The treated effluent from RUTLAND LAGOON is discharged into local waterways that ultimately drain into the Mississippi River basin. The plant's location in the Midwestern United States places it within an agricultural landscape, where nutrient management is critical to prevent downstream impacts such as algal blooms in the Gulf of Mexico.

The plant discharges into local streams that flow into the Des Moines River, a tributary of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River carries water to the Gulf of Mexico, where nutrient pollution contributes to a large hypoxic zone. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce organic pollutants, but nutrient removal may be limited, making its discharge relevant to regional water quality efforts.