About Hoback
Hoback, Wyoming is an unincorporated area in southern Teton County ten miles south of the Town of Jackson. Depending on one’s spatial definition the community has between 300 and 600 residents. Given local pressures on the limited amount of private land in Teton County (which is more than 97% public land), Hoback is expected to grow.
Source: Groundwater pollution from septic systems
The Snake River aquifer, which provides drinking water for nearly all other Teton County residents, does not reach down to Hoback Junction; private wells must tap into limited groundwater seeping through fractured bedrock. Septic system effluent also percolates down into these openings, where it is able to come in contact with the groundwater.
As a result, drinking water in Hoback Junction has long suffered from groundwater pollution. Local wells regularly exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum allowable nitrate concentration for human consumption. Even with specific, privately-funded treatment, nitrate levels remain high. As a result, many Hoback Junction residents avoid drinking their well water and purchase water for personal consumption.
