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Jackson council directs continued monitoring of treated effluent through new wetlands
Summary
The Town of Jackson voted unanimously Nov. 17 to continue voluntary water‑quality monitoring downstream of newly created Wetland 4 and to publish results, after staff presented two-plus years of data showing decreases in nitrate, phosphorus and ammonia through the wetland chain.
Jackson, Wyo. — The Town Council voted unanimously Nov. 17 to direct staff to continue voluntary water‑quality monitoring downstream of Wetland 4 and to present results to council in two years, after staff summarized roughly two and a half years of data showing nutrient reductions as treated effluent passes through a sequence of wetlands before entering the Snake River.
Tanya Anderson, the town’s ecosystem stewardship administrator, told the council the monitoring program supplements required testing at the UV treatment building and the Borrow Pond. “We’ve been doing this testing for about 2 and a half years,” Anderson said, and staff recommend continuing additional testing downstream of Wetland 4 with a follow‑up report to council in approximately two years.
Why it matters: the additional sampling is aimed at measuring ecological effects in the river system rather than compliance at the treatment building. Anderson said nitrate concentrations decrease at each stage — from the UV building, through the borrow pond and Wetland 3, to the downstream sample at Wetland 4 — and that testing through September 2025 showed values at Wetland 4 below 2 milligrams per liter, under the EPA indicator for contamination and well below the 10 mg/L drinking‑water threshold for mechanical treatment plants.
Staff also reported pH values at Wetland 4 remained typically near neutral (about 7–8) and that ammonia — toxic to fish at high concentrations — remained below acute toxicity criteria during the 2024 and 2025 seasons when sampling occurred. Anderson noted the town does not currently sample in winter each week because the site is an elk feeding ground and access is more difficult; staff said remote monitoring technologies might be an option in the future.
Councilors asked technical and policy questions about sample locations, long‑term goals, and how to measure whether the river immediately upstream versus downstream is equivalently healthy. Johnny Ziem, interim public works director, and Dustin Christiansen, wastewater manager (online), described the monitoring points as the UV treatment building (the permit point), headworks, the borrow pond, Wetland 3 and then the downstream Wetland 4 sampling site; as Wetland 4 matures staff plan to add an additional downstream test point farther toward the Snake River.
Public comment: Jen Evans of Protect Our Water Jackson Hole urged the council to hold a public 'chat' to explain the results, pressed for winter sampling and renewed groundwater monitoring (the town’s monitoring wells were last used in 2012), and suggested remote sensors to reduce disturbance to elk.
Action: Councilor Speer moved to direct staff to continue collecting water‑quality data downstream of Wetland 4, present results to council in two years, and publicly share the data on the town website, social media, a published think piece and a council chat; Councilor Regan seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
What’s next: staff will complete outstanding 2025 data and return with a summary in approximately two years; the council directed staff to post the report publicly and to consider outreach formats the public can access.
