Winter STP - Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant in Town of Winter, Wisconsin

Winter STP serves the small community of Town of Winter in Sawyer County, Wisconsin. This publicly owned treatment works provides secondary treatment for approximately 657 residents, a scale typical of rural wastewater facilities in the Upper Midwest. The plant operates under the US Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, which governs effluent limits for municipal wastewater. With a designed capacity of 302.83 million gallons per year, the facility treats an average daily flow that reflects seasonal variations common in northern climates. Treated effluent from Winter STP discharges to local surface waters within the Chippewa River watershed, which ultimately drains to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The plant's secondary treatment process helps protect downstream aquatic ecosystems and recreational water quality in this forested region of Wisconsin.

Winter STP discharges into the Chippewa River basin, a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The receiving waters support diverse aquatic life, including game fish species, and are part of a larger watershed that drains to the Gulf of Mexico. The plant's secondary treatment reduces organic pollutants and suspended solids, helping maintain water quality in this ecologically sensitive region.