Waste Water | The Valley Signal

Tagged: Waste Water

Deep Dive

The Wastewater Numbers Behind Victor's $35 Million Bet

March 31, 2026

Victor's $35 million wastewater plant costs $115,000 less per year than staying with Driggs. The wastewater numbers both cities have and haven't published.

VICTOR — The wastewater numbers in the Victor-Driggs fight start at $35 million, the figure that has dominated the debate since Mayor Will Frohlich announced plans to build an independent treatment plant. Critics call it reckless. The recall petition cites it. Councilmember Amy Ross, the lone dissenting vote on the judicial confirmation, warned in January that she doesn't think "anyone understands the full financial implications of $35 million in debt."

The number deserves scrutiny. So does the number next to it. Staying with Driggs carries its own cost, and when you pull the financial documents both cities have made public, the gap between "build our own" and "stay on the Driggs system" is narrower than the headline suggests. Depending on which assumptions you use, it may not exist at all.

The Valley Signal spent the past week reviewing the wastewater numbers published by both cities: financial data, rate models, engineering studies, and public meeting records.

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Opinion

Democracy in Victor: Busy Being Born or Dying?

March 30, 2026

Meetings are long. Voices are louder. People are organizing, questioning, challenging, and showing up in new ways in Victor. That’s not a failure of democracy—it’s a sign of people caring deeply about this place and the decisions shaping its future. Right now, though, we are far better at breaking things down than building anything back up.

We are facing real, immovable constraints: federal deadlines that cannot be extended, and a wastewater system that must be fixed, with significant financial consequences no matter what path we choose.

Deep Dive

Victor v. Driggs: Inside Teton Valley's $65 Million Wastewater Breakdown

March 20, 2026

For more than 25 years, the cities of Victor and Driggs have shared the Driggs wastewater treatment system. That partnership is now the subject of a major lawsuit, a mayoral recall effort, and more than $65 million in proposed infrastructure spending between the two cities. This is how it happened, what the lawsuit says, and what comes next.

Before 1999, Victor residents relied on individual septic systems. On October 13, 1999, the two cities executed an agreement under which Driggs would treat Victor's wastewater at its facility, a sensible regional solution for two small towns sharing a valley (Complaint, ¶6).

Government & Accountability

Judge to Decide Victor Wastewater Borrowing April 7

March 19, 2026

Update: The Victor Wastewater Hearing was Pushed to September as of April 7, 2026.

Government & Accountability

Recall Petition Filed Against Victor Mayor Over Wastewater Fight

March 19, 2026

VICTOR — A group of Victor residents is attempting to remove Mayor Will Frohlich from office, filing a recall petition with the Teton County Clerk on March 10.