WILDROSE LAGOON Wastewater Treatment Plant, Divide County, North Dakota

WILDROSE LAGOON is a wastewater treatment facility located in rural Divide County, North Dakota, serving a small population of 110 residents. The plant provides secondary treatment, a standard level for small communities in the United States, and has a designed capacity of 113.56 megaliters, with an annual discharge volume of 75.71 megaliters. As a US facility, WILDROSE LAGOON operates under the Clean Water Act, which requires National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for all point source discharges. For small agglomerations like this, secondary treatment is typically sufficient to meet water quality standards, and the plant's capacity utilization suggests it is operating within its designed limits. The treated effluent from WILDROSE LAGOON is discharged into local water bodies that eventually drain into the Missouri River watershed, part of the larger Mississippi River basin. This region supports agricultural activities and provides habitat for diverse aquatic species, making proper wastewater treatment essential for protecting downstream water quality and ecosystem health.

WILDROSE LAGOON discharges into local streams that flow into the Missouri River, which ultimately reaches the Gulf of Mexico. The surrounding area is part of the Great Plains ecoregion, characterized by prairie landscapes and seasonal wetlands. Proper treatment is crucial to prevent nutrient loading that could contribute to algal blooms in downstream waters and to protect the aquatic life that depends on these intermittent streams.