Overview
Whiteface WWTP is a secondary treatment plant in Cochran County, Texas, serving 420 people. It discharges 105.99 units of treated wastewater and has a designed capacity of 196.84 units.
Whiteface WWTP is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located in Cochran County, Texas, United States. The plant serves a small population of 420 residents, reflecting its role in a rural community. It operates under the regulatory framework of the US Clean Water Act, which governs wastewater discharges through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. The plant provides secondary treatment, a standard level that removes biodegradable organic matter and suspended solids. With a designed capacity of 196.84 units and an actual discharge volume of 105.99 units, the facility operates below its maximum capacity. The treated effluent is discharged into a local water body, likely a stream or arroyo that drains into the Brazos River basin or the Colorado River basin, both of which flow toward the Gulf of Mexico. The plant's inland location, over 50 km from the coast, reduces direct marine impact but still contributes to downstream water quality in the region's semi-arid landscape.
Environmental context
The plant discharges into a local watercourse within the Southern High Plains region, which ultimately drains via the Brazos or Colorado River systems to the Gulf of Mexico. The watershed supports agricultural irrigation and provides habitat for aquatic species adapted to intermittent flows. As a secondary treatment facility, it reduces organic and suspended solids loads, helping to protect downstream water quality in this ecologically sensitive semi-arid environment.
Frequently asked questions
Whiteface WWTP is located in Cochran County, Texas, United States, near the town of Whiteface. The facility serves the local community in this rural area of the Southern High Plains.
The plant serves a population of 420 people, making it a small-scale municipal wastewater treatment facility typical of rural communities in the region.
The plant provides secondary treatment and discharges treated effluent into a local water body, likely a stream or arroyo that drains toward the Brazos or Colorado River basin, ultimately reaching the Gulf of Mexico.
As a US facility, Whiteface WWTP operates under the Clean Water Act, which requires NPDES permits for discharges. Secondary treatment is the minimum standard for municipal plants under this framework.
For small communities in Texas, secondary treatment is standard, often using lagoon systems or package plants. The US EPA encourages cost-effective technologies that meet NPDES permit limits for BOD, TSS, and other parameters.
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