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Sediment

Sediment Impacts our Water Quality

One of the most pervasive influences of land-use activities on stream ecosystems is an increase in sediment yield. If fine sediment clogs spaces between streambed gravel, juvenile native trout lose their source of cover and food. Cutthroat trout are also very susceptible to sediment pollution because they build their nests in the stream bottom.

Sediment impacts water quality in many ways. Fine particles fill in tiny gaps in the rocks at the bottom of the creeks and rivers which are used as critical spawning and hunting habitat for Cutthroat Trout.

The sediment blocks light penetration into the stream, further altering aquatic habitat by limiting photosynthesis by algae and other aquatic plants. Photosynthesis is a critical process for food and oxygen.

Flat Creek is currently listed as an impaired waterway.

The Hoback River flows through mostly sedimentary rock which sheds sediment into the water that is carried downstream to the Snake River, and further to Palisades Reservoir.

Even though we are taking steps to mitigate sedimentation into our waterbodies upstream in and around town, this source of sediment has a direct impact on our recreational use of the Snake River.

What can we do?

Disturbances to the soil and changes in the shoreline structure of Hoback River are two sources of sedimentation that we do have control over. Despite the natural disposition of sediment, we must continue to protect and restore riparian areas along the river and minimize activities that cause direct or indirect erosion. The roots of shoreline vegetation provide critical structure that supports the bank.

By focusing on how development can fit within the confines of this unique landscape we can continue to grow as a community without further exacerbating sedimentation into these precious waterbodies.

POWJH is Taking Action

Community Solutions

Teton County Water Quality Management Plan

Date: Ongoing
Status: Current

POWJH has been a driving force behind Teton County's unprecedented comprehensive water quality planning project that will improve our surface and groundwater resources and protect them from future degradation.

Community Solutions

Water Quality Monitoring

Fish Creek and parts of Flat Creek have been listed on Wyoming’s Impaired Waters list since 2020 for elevated E. coli bacteria. Despite this, regular monitoring of bacteria levels in these waterbodies has not occurred. POWJH launched a collaborative water quality monitoring program in Spring 2023 to provide data critical to safe recreation and informed management of each creek.

The time to act is now.
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