WEST STP 3 Wastewater Treatment Plant, Point, Texas

WEST STP 3 is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Point, Texas, a small community in Rains County. The plant serves a population of 160 and operates as part of the local infrastructure managed under state and federal regulations. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment process required by the US Clean Water Act for most municipal facilities. With a designed capacity of 151.42 m³/day and an average discharge volume of 75.71 m³/day, the plant operates well within its capacity. As a small facility, it is subject to EPA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting, which sets effluent limits to protect water quality. The treated effluent from WEST STP 3 is discharged into nearby streams that drain into the Sabine River basin, ultimately flowing to the Gulf of Mexico. The plant plays a key role in protecting local water quality in this rural, agricultural region of northeast Texas.

The plant's discharge enters small tributaries of the Sabine River, which flows southward through Texas and Louisiana into Sabine Lake and then the Gulf of Mexico. The Sabine River basin supports diverse aquatic life and provides habitat for fish and migratory birds. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient and organic loads, protecting downstream water quality in this ecologically sensitive watershed.