SHIRLEY WWTP - Secondary Treatment Plant in Shirley, Indiana

SHIRLEY WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located in Shirley, Hancock County, Indiana. Serving a population of approximately 1,399, the plant is part of the town's infrastructure for managing domestic wastewater. The facility operates under the regulatory framework of the United States Clean Water Act, which requires secondary treatment for municipal plants of this scale. The plant provides secondary treatment, a standard biological process that significantly reduces organic matter and suspended solids. Its designed capacity is 586.74 volume units, with a similar discharge volume, indicating consistent operation. As a smaller facility, it meets the typical requirements for communities under 10,000 people, focusing on efficient treatment to protect local water bodies. The treated effluent from SHIRLEY WWTP is discharged into nearby streams that flow into the White River watershed, ultimately reaching the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. This connection underscores the plant's role in maintaining water quality in the region's freshwater ecosystems and downstream environments.

SHIRLEY WWTP discharges into local tributaries of the White River, which flows through central Indiana before joining the Wabash River and eventually the Mississippi River. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life and provides drinking water for downstream communities. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient and pollutant loads, protecting the ecological health of these waterways.