Sackets Harbor V STP - Wastewater Treatment Plant in Village of Sackets Harbor, New York

Sackets Harbor V STP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located in the Village of Sackets Harbor, Jefferson County, New York. The plant serves a small community of about 1,300 people and is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. As a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) in the United States, it operates under the regulatory framework of the Clean Water Act, which requires secondary treatment for municipal discharges into surface waters. The plant has a designed capacity of 1.00 million gallons per day, indicating it is sized for a small agglomeration. regulations mandate that plants of this scale achieve secondary treatment standards, typically involving biological processes to reduce organic matter and suspended solids. The facility is likely subject to a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. The plant's treated effluent discharges into the Black River Bay or directly into Lake Ontario, part of the St. Lawrence River drainage basin. Lake Ontario is a major freshwater resource and supports diverse aquatic life, including recreational and commercial fisheries. The plant's performance is critical to maintaining water quality in the lake and downstream ecosystems, including the St. Lawrence River and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The plant discharges into the Lake Ontario watershed, which drains via the St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Ontario is a large freshwater lake that supports diverse aquatic ecosystems, including coldwater fish species and migratory birds. The plant's location near the lake's eastern shore means its effluent must meet stringent nutrient and pathogen limits to prevent eutrophication and protect recreational uses.