Wastewater Ponds & Birds

The City operates a sanitary sewage collection system to collect wastewater from 14 sewer lifts and move it to the stabilization ponds located west of the City. The Wastewater System has the designed capacity to hold 2,990,000 gallons per day and averages 1,300,000 gallons per day.   

The wastewater treatment ponds cover 350 acres and it is the largest pond system in Minnesota.

The ponds are a popular stop on the Pine to Prairie International Birding Trail.

Wastewater treatment using ponds is an economical way of treatment that produces effluent that is highly purified.

The waste stabilization pond is a biological treatment process, where bacteria use organic matter in the wastewater as food. The three types of bacteria at work in most ponds are the aerobic, anaerobic, and the facultative bacteria.

Oxygen is supplied to the wastewater by wind action and algae. The algae produce the oxygen needed by the bacteria and the bacteria in turn produce carbon dioxide and other things that are needed by the algae.

The ponds are usually 4 to 6 feet deep and the sludge at the bottom is anaerobic, while the 1 to 2 feet of the top of the pond is aerobic. In the middle, the amount of dissolved oxygen varies and either aerobic or anaerobic decomposition will take place, depending on how much dissolved oxygen is available.

The results are clean water --  for bird watching.

The ponds are part of the Pine to Prairie International Birding Trail. There is an elevated observation shelter and 350 acres of bird watching located south of Highway 1 West. Here are some of the bird species spotted at this location during one outing.