Water Quality in Hoback Junction

Hoback, Wyoming is an unincorporated area in southern Teton County ten miles south of the town of Jackson. The area has around 500 residents. Given local pressures on developing private land (more than 97% of Teton County public land), Hoback is expected to grow.

Hoback sits at the confluence of the Snake and Hoback Rivers. But the Snake River aquifer, which provides drinking water for nearly all other Teton County residents, does not reach down to Hoback Junction. Hoback water comes from private wells that tap into limited groundwater seeping through fractured bedrock. The effluent from septic system percolates down into these openings, where it comes in contact with the groundwater. This is the likely cause of the high nitrate load that characterizes the area, and the reason that many Hoback Junction residents buy water for personal consumption.

These issues are now getting the attention they deserve. A local non-profit, Protect Our Waters Jackson Hole (POWJH), led a campaign to create a water and sewer district formation in Hoback Junction. The district was formed in February of 2023; I'm district chair, as well as a member of the board of POWJH. 

Robert Frodeman