Stephens WWTP - Advanced Wastewater Treatment in Ouachita County, Arkansas

Stephens WWTP is a wastewater treatment facility located in Ouachita County, Arkansas, United States. The plant serves a population of 891, classifying it as a small-scale municipal treatment system within the state's rural infrastructure network. The plant employs advanced treatment processes, which go beyond secondary treatment to remove nutrients and other pollutants. With a designed capacity of 757.08 units and an average daily discharge of 476.96 units, the facility operates below its maximum capacity, indicating room for future growth. As a US facility, it operates under the Clean Water Act's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. The treated effluent from Stephens WWTP is discharged into local waterways that ultimately drain into the Ouachita River basin. The Ouachita River flows south through Arkansas and Louisiana before joining the Red River and eventually reaching the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The plant's advanced treatment helps protect downstream aquatic ecosystems and supports regional water quality goals.

Stephens WWTP discharges into the Ouachita River basin, which flows through the forested hills of southern Arkansas. The Ouachita River supports diverse aquatic life, including several species of freshwater mussels and fish. Downstream, the river merges with the Red River and ultimately reaches the Gulf of Mexico, making the plant's advanced treatment important for reducing nutrient loading in this sensitive coastal ecosystem.