Location: City of Empire Serves: 150,000 people Discharges to: Mississippi River
Built in 1979, the Empire Facility has doubled in size to meet the needs of the growing service area.
The facility provides advanced secondary treatment with ultraviolet disinfection before discharging the resulting clean water to the Mississippi River. Solids removed from the wastewater are thickened, anaerobically digested, dewatered, and dried to be spread as fertilizers on nearby farmlands. This land spreading generally happens in autumn.
The Empire Facility has an excellent environmental record and regularly earns state and national awards for operational excellence. It has earned a National Association of Clean Water Agencies Platinum Peak Performance Award for perfect clean water discharge permit compliance across multiple consecutive years.
Wastewater from Empire is transported through 16 miles of regional sanitary sewer pipes (interceptors) to the facility.