Tollette WWTP - Secondary Treatment Plant in Tollette, Arkansas

Tollette WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Tollette, Arkansas, United States. The facility serves a small population of 240 residents and operates under secondary treatment standards, which is the minimum required by the US Clean Water Act for municipal wastewater. The plant is situated in Howard County, a rural area in southwestern Arkansas. The plant's designed capacity is 378.54 million gallons per day, with an actual discharge volume of 3.79 million gallons per day, indicating significant excess capacity. As a secondary treatment plant, it uses biological processes to remove organic matter and suspended solids. The facility is regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, administered by the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment. The treated effluent is discharged into a local waterway that ultimately drains into the Red River basin, which flows south to the Mississippi River and into the Gulf of Mexico. The plant plays a key role in protecting local water quality in the Ouachita Mountains ecoregion, supporting aquatic life and downstream ecosystems.

The plant discharges into a tributary of the Red River, which flows through Arkansas and Louisiana before emptying into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The surrounding watershed supports diverse aquatic habitats, including bottomland hardwood forests and wetlands that provide critical flood control and water filtration. The region's aquatic ecosystems are sensitive to nutrient loading, making secondary treatment important for maintaining water quality.