Mike Geers

Wastewater Superintendent
1350 N Armstrong Avenue
Litchfield, MN 55355

Phone #: (320) 693-3321
Fax #: (320) 693-1421


For information on electric rates and service, see City Hall.

Description of Permitted Facility

The City of Litchfield currently operates a municipal Wastewater Treatment Facility which is designed to treat an average wet weather flow of 5.5 million gallons per day with an influent biochemical oxygen demand of 22,000 pounds. The facility is located north of the Meeker County Fairgrounds within the Litchfield city limits. The MPCA has classified this as a Class A wastewater treatment facility and biosolids Type IV certification.

The facility includes: liftstations, fine bar screen, grit removal, pre-aeration chamber, three primary clarifiers, two trickling filters, two intermediate clarifiers, three aeration basins, two final clarifiers, six tertiary treatment filters, chlorine contact tank, dechlorination, effluent mechanical aeration, an equalization tank, dissolved air floatation thickener, two anaerobic digesters, and 3.25 million gallons of sludge storage capacity.

The facility has a continuous discharge to Jewetts Creek and adjacent wetlands. Jewetts Creek has been removed from the impaired waters list due to upgrades to the wastewater treatment facility. Jewetts Creek is also a tributary to the North Fork of the Crow River which is an Outstanding Resource Value Water as determined by the MNDNR. Flow eventually reaches the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.

MERCURY MINIMIZATION PLAN
 
Background
Mercury is present in all municipal and many industrial wastewater discharges.  Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that affects human health and the environment.  A naturally-occurring element, mercury does not breakdown into less harmful substances over time. Instead, mercury released into the environment accumulates in fish and animal tissues, a process known as bioaccumulation.  Widespread mercury contamination has prompted the Minnesota Department of Health to issue fish consumption advisories throughout the state.  Most of Minnesota's impaired waters are contaminated by mercury and other bio-accumulative toxins.  The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is carefully evaluating all mercury discharges in the state.  
 
Mercury Educational Resources