Saint Cloud WWTP - Secondary Treatment Plant in Saint Cloud, Wisconsin

Saint Cloud WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Saint Cloud, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. The facility serves a small population of 500 residents, reflecting its role in a rural community. As a secondary treatment plant, it provides biological treatment to remove organic matter and suspended solids before discharge. The plant has a designed capacity of 166.56 million gallons per year and currently treats an annual volume of 102.21 million gallons. Under the US Clean Water Act, facilities of this scale are typically regulated through National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. These permits set effluent limits to protect water quality in the receiving water body. The treated effluent is discharged into a local waterway that ultimately drains into Lake Michigan via the Lake Michigan basin. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life and provides recreational and drinking water resources for downstream communities. The plant's location more than 10 km from the coast reduces direct marine impact, but its discharge contributes to the overall health of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

The plant's discharge enters a tributary of the Lake Michigan basin, which flows into Lake Michigan, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. Lake Michigan supports a complex food web including native fish species and migratory birds. The watershed is ecologically sensitive due to nutrient loading concerns, which can lead to algal blooms and hypoxic conditions. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce organic pollutants, but nutrient removal may be limited without tertiary processes.