Public Utilities in the City of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Wastewater Treatment Plant

Member of

Water Environmental Federation and Central States
Minnesota Wastewater Operators Association
Minnesota Environmental Science & Economic Review Board

The Detroit Lakes wastewater system serves an average of 2,854 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 million per day.

The wastewater treatment process consists of a mechanical trickling filter facility which includes preliminary treatment, primary clarification, and final clarification of the wastewater. Also located on this site are digesters for the anaerobic digestion of biosolids. From this point the sludges are ultimately applied to land as fertilizers and the liquid effluent is 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 water from the stabilization pond is then disposed of by either depositing into infiltration basins, spray irrigation or through a chemical process for further reduction of phosphorus with the water 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 sludge 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 consistently receives an annual compliance award from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for these efforts. The compliance award only goes to those wastewater treatment facilities which at all times meet or exceed their water quality standards as established by their National Pollutant Discharge Permits.

Wastewater Rates & Policies

Below you find a link to download the Water Utility Ordinance. Please follow the download instructions below.

PC Users: To download the file below, simply right-click on the link, then choose "Save Target As" and save it to your computer. You will then be able to open the text file from your computer.

Macintosh Users: Click on the link and hold down the mouse button until a dialog box appears. Then, choose "Save This Link As" and save it to your computer. You will then be able to open the text file from your computer.

Wastewater Ordinance

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