The Hoback Junction Water and Sewer District and Nelson Engineering have made plans to take water from a gravel bed adjacent to the Snake River, treat it, and distribute it to 60 homes 24 miles north of Jackson.
Hoback currently gets its drinking water from wells, which has long been subject to water quality concerns because of nitrate contamination. Nitrate contamination is tied to human health risks, especially for infants, and can also be linked to cancers. South of Jackson the contamination is caused in part by Hoback’s septic systems.