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Groundwater testing for pollutants near the Town of Jackson’s Wastewater Treatment Plant is expected to resume this year after 14 years.
That’s due, in part, to pressure from Protect our Waters Jackson Hole. In August 2025, the advocacy group petitioned the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality for the second year in a row to bring back testing at the wastewater treatment plant off the Snake River, south of town. Late last year, the state sided with the petitioners, requiring the town to resume testing.
The area’s groundwater is generally regarded as safe. But Jennifer Evans, advocacy director with POWJH, worries the state’s not adequately monitoring for pollutants like ammonia, leaking out of the treatment plant and into the aquifer.
Ammonia, often caused by sewage, animal waste or fertilizer is toxic at high concentrations and could contribute to unhealthy drinking water or environmental damage.
“[We’re] just making sure that the Town of Jackson is doing the best that they can for water quality,” Evans said.
The nonprofit based its complaint on records from 2007 to 2012 showing elevated levels of the oxygen-killing chemical.
Evans said the state will work with the town to design an appropriate monitoring program. She said testing will start before the year’s end, but doesn’t know exactly when.
“The idea that groundwater around the plant will now be monitored is ultimately what we really wanted, so that’s exciting,” Evans said.
The nonprofit, the state, and the town all say more testing is a good thing according to the POWJH press release.
