Taylor Lagoon Wastewater Treatment Plant, Taylor, North Dakota

Taylor Lagoon is a wastewater treatment facility located in Taylor, Stark County, North Dakota, serving a small population of 148 residents. The plant operates as a lagoon system providing secondary treatment, typical for small communities in the region. The plant has a designed capacity of 75.71 megaliters and discharges approximately 37.85 megaliters of treated wastewater annually. As a small facility in the United States, it operates under the Clean Water Act, with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued by the state of North Dakota, ensuring compliance with effluent limits. The treated effluent is discharged into local waterways that drain into the Heart River, a tributary of the Missouri River. The Missouri River flows into the Mississippi River and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico, making the plant's discharge part of a larger watershed that supports diverse aquatic life and downstream ecosystems.

The plant's discharge enters local streams that feed into the Heart River, which flows into the Missouri River. This river system supports a variety of fish and wildlife, including migratory birds along the Central Flyway. The Missouri River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River, which drains into the Gulf of Mexico, where nutrient loading can contribute to hypoxic zones. Proper treatment helps mitigate these impacts.