Watershed Symposium 2018

Situation Assessment of Water Quality Issues in the Jordan River

The Jordan River is a complex, multi-jurisdictional, increasingly urbanized hydrologic system. We summarize stakeholder and expert interviews to assess the current understanding of water quality issues in the river and challenges and opportunities for moving toward a shared, hopeful vision for the future.

Full Abstract
The Jordan River flows from Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake, through about 20 jurisdictions, and is subject to multiple, complex stressors on water quality, including inputs from Utah Lake and tributaries, urban growth and development in the watershed, wastewater treatment facilities, allocation and management of flows, stormwater inputs, climate variability, etc. Future water quality of the river depends on decisions and actions taken in the near term, along with long-term management and stewardship. Over the summer of 2018, our team conducted 31 interviews with technical experts and stakeholders associated with Jordan River water quality, to assess the state of the river as a social-ecological system, along the dimensions of knowledge (do we know what we need to know?), options (what levers are available to achieve desired outcomes?), and connections (what does the network of actors and stakeholders look like?). Here, we report specifically on some of our findings regarding knowledge and options. Knowledge includes the primary sources of data, the identified data gaps, and stakeholders’ overall assessment of the current and future state of the river. Options refers to the identification of primary drivers of water quality impairments and the existing opportunities for improvement. Interviewees varied in their assessments of current conditions, but were generally optimistic about the future of the Jordan River and its potential to enhance the ecological integrity and quality of life in the valley.