Clean Water Infrastructure in Hoback

10 years ago we bought our first home on the Hoback River. We loved it. I became a mom there. I started my career in public service there. We ended up moving when our family grew, but my heart has always been in Hoback. The street where we lived was one of the places where elevated nitrate levels in the drinking water started showing up in regular testing. 

Thanks to support from Teton Conservation District, including the leadership of Carlin Girard, and focus from the Teton County Public Health, more and expanded testing and education began. (I can remember like it was yesterday the meeting I was in with Carlin when all the dots were connected and things really got cranking in earnest). Then other water advocates became involved in broadening the work like Protect Our Waters Jackson Hole and the Snake River Fund. 

It took time. It took education. It took creating buy-in with a wide variety of landowners, neighborhoods, and other stakeholders. It took work alongside the state to forge a path forward. It took great leadership, humility, and courage from residents in Hoback. 

There is much that remains necessary to be done, but I think it's important to mark the milestones as they come. Yesterday, I couldn't have been more proud to vote YES on a resolution committing funds from the Water Quality SPET towards the clean drinking water infrastructure for the Hoback Water District. Check out Buckrail’s coverage.

Access to clean drinking water isn't just a natural resource issue. It is a health equity issue. It is an economic issue. It is a climate issue. And, in my estimation, it remains a moral issue. 

Congratulations and great job to the many, many individuals and groups that have gotten us here and who will keep at it until we cross the finish line.