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Construction of the Columbia Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant was completed in 1983 and required approximately 200 man-years of effort in moving 600,000 cubic yards of earth and rock (enough to fill Faurot Field to the top of the bleachers), placing 75,000 tons of concrete, installing 40,000 lineal feet of piping with 234 valves, and providing $3 million worth of equipment. The total construction cost for the Columbia Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant was $21 million. An additional $30 million was spent for construction of new interceptor sewer lines to convey wastewater to the new treatment plant. The original plant design capacity was 13 million gallons per day. More than 75 small wastewater treatment facilities throughout Columbia were eliminated by construction of the Columbia Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.
By 1990, in order to meet the needs of a growing community and to continue the City's efforts to protect streams and groundwater in the area by extending sewers into unsewered developments, it was necessary to increase treatment capacity. In preparation for growth during the next 20 years, the City upgraded the Columbia Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant and constructed a series of wetland treatment units (ponds). The fourth treatment unit was completed in 2001. The design capacity of the Columbia Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant is approximately 20 million gallons per day.
The constructed wetland treatment units are located in the McBaine Bottoms and receive wastewater after it is treated at the original treatment plant. After additional treatment as it flows through the constructed wetlands, the wastewater is discharged to the Missouri Department of Conservation's Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area on the Missouri River.
