Teton County Water Quality

About

Teton County is committed to protecting and preserving our natural resources and ecosystems to ensure a healthy environment, community, and economy. As the Teton County Comprehensive Plan states, we are committed to Ecosystem Stewardship by “ensuring the health of all native species by avoiding habitat impact and fragmentation, maintaining water quality, and limiting our contribution to climate change.” Furthermore, Principle 1.2 of the Comp Plan states:

Clean water is one of the most basic requirements of a healthy ecosystem and community. Protecting the water quality of Jackson and Teton County is essential to the ecosystem and scenic beauty that residents and visitors enjoy. In addition, the public has the right to clean, affordable drinking water. Stewardship of surface water bodies of all sizes, the Snake River Sole Source Aquifer, wetlands, riparian areas, and groundwater, is vital to sustaining healthy populations of native species and for the health and safety of the human community. Preservation of water quality includes water features, from small creeks to large systems, including the Snake River Sole Source Aquifer, due to its importance as the community’s water source. Among other measures, it is integral to minimize pollution from wastewater and stormwater that causes water quality impairment and threatens overall ecosystem health.

Several broad policy objectives are identified to achieve the goals of preserving and enhancing surface and groundwater quality.

Policy 1.2a: Buffer waterbodies, wetlands, and riparian areas from development.

Policy 1.2b: Require filtration of runoff.

Policy 1.2c: Coordinate water quality and monitoring with Teton Conservation District and other partners.

Policy 1.2d: Protect the Snake River Sole Source Aquifer. 

The Water Quality Management Plan

The Teton County Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP) is a countywide water quality protection plan that addresses the shared values and goals presented in the Jackson/Teton County Comprehensive Plan (Jackson, Teton County, 2020). The WQMP is a local land use plan developed by Teton County (County), in collaboration with the Town of Jackson (Town), Teton Conservation District (TCD), and Protect Our Water Jackson Hole (POWJH), under Wyoming statutory authority and incorporating elements of source water protection from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) as well as the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

2024 Water Quality Management Plan  

Water Quality Management Plan Board Adoption 

2024 Action Plan

In June of 2024, the Water Quality Plan was adopted, and along with its adoption by Teton County’s Board of County Commissioners, Public Works Staff submitted a Summary Action Plan. This action plan outlines several priorities that Teton County Public Works staff has identified and can begin to address immediately. These priorities include:

1. Establishing a Water Quality Advisory Board and Technical Working Group.
2. Proceed with updating Land Development regulations and Small Wastewater Facility regulations.
3. Formalize a process for coordination between Teton County and the Town of Jackson.
4. Continue and increase coordination with other water resource management agencies.
5. Support existing monitoring programs and expand efforts to include long-term sites, project impact assessments, and early warning for sensitive areas.

Summary Action Plan 2024 - https://publicinput.com/Customer/File/Full/2481f007-81f8-4dfa-b56d-feb8ae2fbd14  

Water Quality Management Plan – In Focus

The WQMP project was initiated in January 2022 and is funded jointly by the County, TCD, and POWJH. While the Town of Jackson (Town) is not a funding partner, the Town is considered a project partner as their wastewater, stormwater, drinking water, and transportation infrastructure plays an important role when evaluating water quality within the county. The project partners, along with Trihydro and Flitner Strategies, Inc., are members of the project team and worked closely together throughout the development of this WQMP. In addition, five stakeholder groups consisting of individual community members with expertise and interest in specific water quality issues provided input to the project team during the planning process. 

To meet the objective of identifying practical water quality actions, the project team took the following steps:

• Current water quality research initiatives were compiled, and their data was used to assess current water resource conditions.
• Water resources were then assessed for current and future sensitivity and vulnerability to identify likely sources of water quality threats and the area’s most in need of protection.
• The project team, stakeholder groups, and members of the public suggested potential water quality actions that were thoroughly evaluated using detailed criteria. The actions related to water quality include additional studies, education initiatives, governance/policy, amendments to the LDRs and SWFRs, a monitoring program, and structural mitigation measures.
• The water quality actions found to be the most effective tools for water quality protection were organized into an Action Plan consisting of essential actions (2024-2025), immediate actions (2024-2026), short-term actions
• (2024-2029), and long-term actions (2024-2044).

These actions have been summarized in Table ES-1 of the WQMP. You can find the full table here - Table ES-1 The table is organized by Water Quality Actions, with agency involvement, estimated cost, and

proposed staffing needs recommendations.

The project team identified the following WQA categories:

• Additional Studies needed to inform future regulatory changes, support ongoing regulatory enforcement, future land use planning, and future updates to the final WQMP.
• Education to inform the public of best practices and what they can do to improve water quality.
• Governance/Policy ideas that will require direction/approval from the Teton County Board of Commissioners and/or the Town of Jackson Town Council.
• Land Development Regulations modifications to the land development regulations.
• Small Wastewater Facility Regulations (SWFRs) ideas to amend the SWFRs.
• Monitoring to create a systematic approach to understanding water quality countywide via surface and groundwater networks to provide consistent background data and identify water quality changes over time.
• Mitigation Measures are typically structural projects that need to be built, operated, and maintained.

News and Recent Presentations

Snake River Headwaters Group Winter Convening Meeting: The next five years for the WQMP

Updates to the Land Use Development Regulations - waterbodies and wetlands setbacks 

News and Guide Article - Setbacks for water quality: Teton County’s latest rules spark debate

Resources

Drinking Water Safety and Testing - https://www.tetoncountywy.gov/1081/Drinking-Water-Safety-Testing

Where Does Your Drinking Water Come From? https://www.tetoncountywy.gov/1804/Where-Does-Your-Drinking-Water-Come-From

Private Wells and Springs - https://www.tetoncountywy.gov/2621/Private-Wells-and-Springs

What is E. Coli? - https://www.tetoncountywy.gov/2622/What-is-E-Coli

River Access - https://www.tetoncountywy.gov/1339/River-Access  

Snake River Management - https://www.tetoncountywy.gov/1352/Snake-River-Management

 Water Quality Division - https://deq.wyoming.gov/water-quality

This section of the DEQ website contains overviews and information regarding the WQD’s programs. Additionally, you may access various downloadable resources – forms, studies, Rules & Regulations, guidelines, permitting information, announcements, and more – by navigating to your specific program of interest.

 The Wyoming Water Development Program was established in 1975 to promote the optimal development of the state's human, industrial, mineral, agricultural, water, and recreational resources. The program, administered by the Wyoming Water Development Office (WWDO), provides for project planning, selection, financing, construction, acquisition, and operation. This can include projects for the conservation, storage, transmission, supply, and use of water necessary in the public interest to develop and preserve Wyoming's water and related land resources.

 The office is governed by a commission responsible for coordinating, developing, and planning Wyoming's water and related land resources. The Commission consists of ten members who are appointed by the Governor with the Senate's approval. Members represent the four state water divisions and the Wind River Reservation. Appointments are for a term of four years, and a political split on the commission is required.

 WWDC Home Page - https://wwdc.state.wy.us

Teton County Conservation District

Teton Conservation District’s Water Program dedicates expertise and funding to assist individuals, agencies, and nonprofit partners in addressing water quality issues, waterbody health, flooding, and erosion. We prioritize preserving our outstanding water resources and work to protect them through thoughtful planning and tackling problems head-on with a science-based, community-minded approach.

TCD Water page - https://www.tetonconservation.org/water, is the location for information about a broad range of water quality initiatives, including:

Well Test Kits - https://www.tetonconservation.org/well-test-kits

Drinking Water Quality Mapping - https://www.tetonconservation.org/drinking-water-quality-mapping

Snowpack Information - https://www.tetonconservation.org/snowpack-information

Septic and Sewer Mapping - https://www.tetonconservation.org/septic-sewer-map

Surface Water Inventory - https://www.tetonconservation.org/surface-water-inventory

Snake River Rampdown from Jackson Lake Dam - https://www.tetonconservation.org/snake-river-rampdown-effects

Hoback Drinking Water - https://www.tetonconservation.org/hoback

Teton County Septic System Effluent Monitoring Study - https://www.tetonconservation.org/septic-monitoring-study

Flat Creek Watershed Management Plan - https://www.tetonconservation.org/flat-creek-watershed-management-plan

Water Quality Monitoring - https://www.tetonconservation.org/water-quality-monitoring

Jackson Hole Clean Water Coalition - https://www.tetonconservation.org/jackson-hole-clean-water-coalition

Level 1 Watershed Studies - https://www.tetonconservation.org/level-1-watershed-study

Water Improvement Projects - https://www.tetonconservation.org/water-improvement-projects

Real-time stream flows - https://www.tetonconservation.org/real-time-stream-flows