Leaking septic systems in Hoback Junction are polluting drinking water.
That’s according to findings from an investigation published last month by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.
“Based on the results of the data review, it appears that the major known source of nitrates in groundwater is related to the density of domestic septic systems in the area,” the report states.
It’s the first report from outside experts showing nitrate pollution in Hoback could be resolved by addressing wastewater, according to Carlin Girard, executive director of the Teton Conservation Alliance.
The results aren’t surprising to Girard. But, he said, the report “does help a lot.
“For years there has been a very consistent questioning of the source of nitrates in Hoback by professionals, by engineers,” he said.
Phil Powers, executive director of Protect Our Water Jackson Hole, also anticipated the results.
“It just helps us have confidence that the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality can follow through and get to the bottom of these issues,” Powers said. Complaints submitted in 2020 by Protect Our Water and the Wyoming Outdoor Council led to the state’s investigation.
The Environmental Protection Agency has been monitoring drinking water in Teton County for over 30 years, finding nitrate levels above the recommended 10 milligrams per liter threshold in other locations in the valley, too. Girard also created a map using samples from private wells and public water systems countywide. On the 2021 map, Hoback Junction shows up as a bright red hotspot.
Nitrate is a nutrient pollution, a form of dissolved nitrogen that can come from agriculture, or in Hoback’s case, byproducts of human waste disposal. High concentrations in surface water can cause algae blooms that threaten wildlife.
As for drinking water, high levels of nitrate can limit oxygen’s ability to travel through blood. For infants and pregnant women, that can look like lethal cases of methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby syndrome.”
Without large-scale agriculture or industry nearby, septic systems have been the only obvious culprit, Girard said. But this is the first report to confirm the source.
The data could help quiet debate, secure grants and even tighten county zoning and building codes, he said.
While the state’s investigation highlights “domestic” systems, Girard has a broader interpretation from his years collecting water samples day after day: leaking commercial septic systems are also to blame.
“Areas with similarly tight development, but less larger systems have less of a problem,” he said.
While the state’s report is new, actions to address the problem are not.
As awareness of poor water quality throughout the valley has grown over the last four years, Teton County created a water advisory board and hired a water resources coordinator, Chris Peltz. Voters in 2022 passed a ballot measure to raise $10 million over several years in sales tax to improve and protect water quality.
Protect Our Water Jackson Hole funded and distributed over 10,000 gallons of clean drinking water to over 50 Hoback Junction households from 2022 to 2024, according to its website.
And in 2023, Hoback residents signed a petition to form the Hoback Water and Sewer District.
Rob Frodeman lives in Hoback Junction and chairs the district board.
“What this report underlines is that this is only the first step of the two step process,” Frodeman said.
That first step is building a system to deliver clean water. But more important is fixing the source of the pollution, Frodeman said.
A larger fix will likely look like a municipal wastewater system.
That assessment aligns with recommendations from the Department of Environmental Quality, listed at the end of the report.
While much of rural Teton County relies on septic systems, accounting for over 2,000 structures, the population hub of Jackson sends wastewater along pipes for treatment in South Park. That facility has capacity, but it’s uphill four miles from Hoback, stretching through steep slopes that are prone to landslides along Highway 89.
That geography presents its own problems, Frodeman said, making a second option look more viable: a smaller, closer treatment area called a package plant.
Whatever the fix, Frodeman said, it should be done “immediately, and with deliberate speed.” He added that the systems for drinking water and wastewater treatment would both cost over $5 million.
For the treatment system, the Hoback Water and Sewer district has already raised $3.5 million, Frodeman said. He expects grants and long term-loans paid back by homeowners to cover the rest.
If a public water system is not in the cards, the state’s report offered other recommendations in the meantime.
Steps include groundwater sampling to pinpoint nitrate impacts, identifying water supplies with nitrate issues, and delivering water treatment options for those with polluted water. As for the water treatment system — step one — Frodeman is optimistic.
“The best guess is that we were hoping to have water flow in 2027,” he said in December, “and since this is basically 2025 now, that’s not so bad.”
