Lagoon systems: wastewater treatment plants in Georgia
147 plants · 61% of the state · 192 MGD reported by 130 plants
Klarifi identifies 147 publicly owned wastewater treatment plants with lagoon systems in Georgia, 61% of the 241 plants in the state (192 MGD reported by 130 plants). The largest is Dekalb County Department Of Watershed Management (snapfinger Creek Awtf) in Decatur at 30.42 MGD.
Lagoon systems treat wastewater in large earthen ponds over weeks of retention time, with or without mechanical aeration. They serve thousands of small towns because they are cheap to run, but they struggle with ammonia and nutrient limits, fill with sludge over decades and are the plants most often converted or upgraded when a permit is renewed.
The largest lagoons in Georgia
| # | Facility | City | Avg flow (MGD) | NPDES permit | Expires | Violations (3y) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dekalb County Department Of Watershed Management (snapfinger Creek Awtf) | Decatur | 30.42 | GA0024147 | Mar 2029 | 1 |
| 2 | Pole Bridge Creek Advanced Wastewater Facility | Lithonia | 30.42 | GA0026816 | Mar 2029 | 4 |
| 3 | South Columbus Water Resource Facility | Columbus | 27.02 | GA0020516 | Jun 2031 | 2 |
| 4 | Macon Water Authority (rocky Creek Wrf) | Macon | 18.26 | GAIS01201 | May 2027 | 40 |
| 5 | Fulton County - Johns Creek Environmental Campus | Alpharetta | 8.2 | GA0038831 | Dec 2029 | 2 |
| 6 | Athens-Clarke County (north Oconee Wrf) | Athens | 6.81 | GA0021725 | Jan 2031 | 7 |
| 7 | Cobb County Water System (northwest Wrf) | Marietta | 5.9 | GA0046761 | Dec 2027 | 73 |
| 8 | City Of Cumming | Cumming | 3.6 | GA0046019 | Aug 2028 | 0 |
| 9 | Douglas Southeast WPCP | Douglas | 3.4 | GA0024431 | Dec 2021 | 36 |
| 10 | Savannah Wilshire - Windsor WPCP | Savannah | 3.1 | GA0020443 | Aug 2031 | 0 |
| 11 | Savannah Crossroads WPCP | Savannah | 3.02 | GA0038326 | May 2024 | 4 |
| 12 | Clayton County Water | Hampton | 2.62 | GA0038369 | Feb 2031 | 0 |
| 13 | Fayetteville, City Of (whitewater Creek Wpcp) | Fayetteville | 2.33 | GA0035807 | Sep 2026 | 0 |
| 14 | Savannah, City Of (georgetown Wpcp) | Savannah | 1.81 | GA0046418 | Aug 2026 | 0 |
| 15 | Buford, City Of (southside Wpcp) | Buford | 1.63 | GA0023167 | Aug 2024 | 29 |
| 16 | Cordele, City Of (gum Creek Wpcp) | Cordele | 1.57 | GA0024503 | Jul 2027 | 24 |
| 17 | Henry County Water Authority - Indian Creek WRF | Mcdonough | 1.55 | GA0050241 | Apr 2027 | 5 |
| 18 | Unified Government Of Athens-Clarke County (cedar Creek Wpcp) | Athens | 1.41 | GA0034584 | Jan 2031 | 0 |
| 19 | Lafayette, City Of (lafayette Wpcp) | Lafayette | 1.36 | GA0025712 | Jun 2028 | 21 |
| 20 | Hinesville, City Of (jv Road Wrf) | Hinesville | 1.32 | GA0050301 | May 2026 | 1 |
| 21 | Chatsworth, City Of (judson Vick Wpcp) | Chatsworth | 1.31 | GA0032492 | Nov 2029 | 0 |
| 22 | Grovetown, City Of (grovetown Wpcp) | Grovetown | 1.31 | GA0050246 | Mar 2028 | 12 |
| 23 | Dallas, City Of (pumpkinvine Creek Wpcp) | Dallas | 1.3 | GAIS13435 | May 2027 | 0 |
| 24 | Baxley, City Of (baxley Wpcp) | Baxley | 1.23 | GA0038725 | Oct 2026 | 11 |
| 25 | Summerville, City Of (summerville Wpcp) | Summerville | 1.2 | GA0025704 | Apr 2028 | 13 |
Contacts and project signals for every plant on this list
Klarifi adds verified decision-maker contacts, permit limits, discharge monitoring data and the capital projects planned in each city, filterable by technology, size and compliance record.
Other technologies in Georgia
Lagoon systems in other states
Lagoon systems in Georgia: questions
Sources and methodology
Flow, permit and violation figures come from the EPA's ICIS-NPDES discharge monitoring records. Population served comes from the Clean Watersheds Needs Survey 2022. Treatment structures are identified by Klarifi's review of aerial imagery, and capital improvement projects are extracted from published municipal budget documents. Violations are counted over the last three years of monitoring reports.
Data refreshed September 11, 2026.