Sumner WWTP - Dawson County, Nebraska Wastewater Treatment Plant

Sumner WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located along Highway 40 in Dawson County, Nebraska. The plant serves a small community of 259 residents, reflecting its role in rural wastewater management within the state. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment process required under the US Clean Water Act for most municipal facilities. With a designed capacity of 75.71 units, the plant operates at full capacity based on reported discharge volumes. As a small-scale facility, it falls under state-level NPDES permitting administered by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy. The treated effluent from Sumner WWTP is discharged into local waterways that ultimately drain into the Platte River basin, a major tributary of the Missouri River. This watershed supports agricultural irrigation and provides habitat for diverse aquatic species, including migratory birds along the Central Flyway.

The plant's discharge enters the Platte River watershed, which flows eastward to join the Missouri River near Plattsmouth, Nebraska, and eventually reaches the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. This basin is ecologically significant as a critical stopover for sandhill cranes and other migratory waterfowl, and supports a variety of fish species. The secondary treatment helps reduce organic pollutants and suspended solids, protecting downstream water quality in this agriculturally intensive region.