The Village of Luck owns and operates a Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) which was constructed in 1981. The WWTF utilizes aerated lagoons, after which the treated effluent is discharged to seepage cells (typically during January to June) or to an adjacent wetland (typically during June to December).

The WWTF operates under a Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit which was re-issued in April of 2015. This permit and past permits identified effluent ammonia limits that the WWTF must achieve. The effluent from the treatment facility is sampled and tested, and the impact on the area groundwater is monitored by a sampling from several monitoring wells installed upgradient and downgradient of the seepage cells.

The WPDES permit issued in 2009 identified new effluent limits for ammonia, and provided a variance so that the Village would have time to identify alternatives and construct the new treatment facilities necessary to meet the ammonia limits. The Village contracted with MSA in October, 2012, to prepare the Wastewater Facility Plan report, to identify the ability of the existing WWTF to meet the new ammonia limit and evaluate alternatives for an upgrade as necessary. For the four years of historic data evaluated in the Facility Plan report, the monthly effluent ammonia limit was exceeded 52% of the time.

The Wastewater Facility Plan was completed and approved by the DNR in July, 2013. The Facility Plan identified the most cost-effective and environmentally sound means for addressing the Village’s current and future wastewater treatment needs. The recommended alternative includes continued use of the existing seepage cells. Because the seepage cells do not have capacity to accept all the treated wastewater, the recommended alternative also includes improvements to the treatment facility to meet the WPDES permit effluent limits, including the new ammonia limits, for the portion of the year when the treated effluent is discharged to the adjacent wetland. These improvements include: sludge removal from the aerated lagoons, influent flow metering and sampling (relocated to the Main Lift Station), lagoon aeration system replacement (including blowers, air mains, laterals and diffusers), floating insulated cover on Aerated Lagoon No. 1, floating cover on Aerated Lagoon No. 2, floating curtain baffle in both Aerated Lagoon No. 1 and No. 2 to prevent short circuiting, moving bed biological reactor (MBBR) for treatment of organics and ammonia, a chemical feed system for phosphorus reduction, and a building to house the equipment.

If these issues had not been addressed, the Village of Luck would be in violation of their WPDES permit. In addition to the WWTP upgrades, the Village also needed upgrades to their sanitary sewer collection system including the upgrade of two lift stations.

The total project cost was $4.9 million. With assistance from MSA, the Village was able to secure almost $2.7 million in grants to fund this project, which was successfully completed in 2018.