Wastewater Treatment

The City of Buchanan built one of the first wastewater treatment plants on the St. Joseph River in 1938. The plant was designated a primary treatment plant, meaning it provided primary settling, with removal of approximately 40% of all solids.

Federal regulations required the city to increase removals in 1968, therefore the city expanded the plant to include secondary treatment. The current Buchanan Wastewater Treatment Plant is a conventional activated sludge process with phosphorous and ammonia nitrogen removal. The plant is designed to remove 90% of the carbonaceous organic materials, suspended solids, total phosphorous and ammonia nitrogen. Once the wastewater has received complete treatment, the water is chlorinated to remove bacteria, and de-chlorinated prior to discharge to the St. Joseph River. The solids removed during treatment are dried on the sludge drying beds, stock piled, and hauled to the Southwest Berrien County Landfill annually.

The City of Buchanan Wastewater Treatment Plant operates under a National Pollutant Discharge Permit # MI0022489 issued by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, as required by the U.S EPA.