Projects set to improve Jordan River water quality and hopefully bring out the paddleboarders
Authored by Jordan Miller
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
Projects along the Jordan River are improving the river and bringing recreaters to the waters. For example, the Three Creeks Confluence and Cornell Lift Station both aim to make the river into a community amenity.
About half of Utah’s population lives within 15 minutes of the river, and summer projects aim to bring more Utahns out to the waterway.
People who enjoy the Jordan River frequently can tell you their stories of seeing a beaver swim across the water, or witnessing a Blue Heron catch a fish for its dinner.
They can also tell you about the sunken shopping carts and bags of trash they have to kayak or paddleboard around on the river’s meandering course from Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake — but several new projects from the Jordan River Commission are trying to change that vision of the river by cleaning up the waterway.
The Jordan River runs through several cities; in fact nearly half the state’s population lives within 15 minutes of the waterway. Like most urban rivers in the country, historically that’s made the river pretty filthy.
Aimee Horman paddles the river at least three times a week. She’s also the education outreach manager for the Jordan River Commission, which is a group dedicated to protecting and responsibly developing the river corridor. According to Horman, the recreation opportunities on the river have been growing.
“The river is great, and it’s year-round, and its activities are so accessible right in the heart of the valley.” Horman said. “Every time I’m on the river, there are other… people that are out there. And so even when we’re out doing canoe cleanup, other paddlers will paddle by and get excited that kind of stewardship is happening.
Not that it doesn’t have its problems. Like any other body of water, harmful algal blooms can occur during the summer when the water heats up — usually on parts of the Jordan River closer to Utah Lake. But overall, Horman said the river’s water quality puts it in a safe range for most activities.
What’s really holding the historic waterway back as a spot for recreation — and maybe even fishing — is its reputation for being dirty. In 2020, the Jordan River Commission conducted a survey that showed 42 percent of those surveyed said the water quality of the river was something that dissuaded them from visiting the area more frequently.
Building a better urban river
The Three Creeks Confluence — which include Emigration, Parleys, and Red Butte Creeks — is one project that will improve an area of the river. Scheduled to open on July 9, the area will restore the area where the creeks meet the Jordan River to a more natural state, creating a recreational venue where the confluence was once paved over and neglected.
“That culvert also happens to be the storm drain for the entire central city part of Salt Lake,” Søren Simonsen, executive director of the Jordan River Commission said. “It will give an opportunity for people to say ‘We need to start thinking differently about our water systems, and how we’re caring for them.’”
