Wastewater System

The Detroit Lakes Wastewater System serves an average of 3,200 customers within the City of Detroit Lakes. The treatment system is designed to handle up to 1.64 million gallons a day with existing flows averaging approximately 1.0 million gpd.

The wastewater treatment process consists of a Mechanical Trickling Filter Facility which includes a bar screen grit removal, primary clarification, and final clarification of the wastewater. Also located on this site are digesters for the anaerobic digestion of bio-solids. From this point the bio-solids are applied to land as fertilizer. Plant effluent is then pumped to an aerated pond for additional biological treatment. Treated effluent from the aerated pond is then brought into a 25-acre stabilization pond for final treatment and storage. Treated wastewater from the stabilization pond is then applied to infiltration basins, spray irrigation or through a chemical process for further reduction of phosphorus with the wastewater then being discharged into surface waters.

Construction of $3.75 million in upgrades were made to the treatment process in 1997 which included new clarifiers and anaerobic digesters, along with miscellaneous other processes and control systems. The utility takes great pride in its role to preserve and maintain clean and pure water resources in the Detroit Lakes area and has consistently received an annual compliance award from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for these efforts. The compliance award goes only to wastewater treatment facilities which at all times meet or exceed their water quality standards as established by their National Pollutant Discharge Permits.