More Water is Key for Helping Great Salt Lake—But What About the Jordan River?

This weblog was initially posted on the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust website on September 24, 2025. The Belief is co-managed by Nationwide Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy.

You will have heard the current information that Great Salt Lake received a much-needed boost as 10,000 acre-feet of recent water flowed from storage in Utah Lake, via the Jordan River, and into Nice Salt Lake’s Farmington and Gilbert Bays. This effort was made doable due to a partnership between Nationwide Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy, as managers of the Nice Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Belief (the Belief), Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Utah Division of Wildlife Assets, and the Utah Division of Forestry, Fireplace and State Lands.

Late-season water flows, reminiscent of this launch, are necessary for a mess of causes—they assist mitigate botulism in birds, maintain lake ranges and salinity (salt) ranges through the dry season, and might enhance the riparian and wetland ecosystems that the water strikes via on its journey.

This yr, although, these new water flows offered a further alternative for the Utah Division of Water High quality (UDWQ) to conduct the Jordan River Flushing Circulate Research—analysis that goals to raised perceive the well being of Jordan River’s waters and the affect of utilizing water flows to mitigate opposed ecological circumstances, particularly in hotter, drier months. 

“The timing for this research was serendipitous. UDWQ waited a very long time to have the required elevated flows to conduct this analysis, and this yr’s late-season launch got here via within the nick of time,” mentioned Jodi Gardberg, Part Supervisor for the Utah Division of Water High quality’s Watershed Safety Part.

When Jodi says they’ve waited a very long time, she means it. The Jordan River Flush Circulate Research is the fruits of practically 15 years of analysis, modeling, and planning to enhance water high quality within the Jordan River.

Within the early 2010s, the Utah Division of Water High quality performed a water high quality take a look at that decided the decrease Jordan River had dissolved oxygen (DO) ranges too low to maintain heat water aquatic life. This positioned the Jordan River on the Clear Water Act’s 303(d) Record of impaired waters—an inventory of waterbodies that fail to satisfy water high quality requirements crucial to guard their useful use, reminiscent of aquatic ecosystems.

As soon as a waterbody is positioned on the 303(d) checklist, UDWQ develops a water high quality restoration plan  (in any other case generally known as a Whole Most Day by day Load Research) to find out what’s inflicting the impairment, together with an implementation plan to rectify the scenario.

“The TMDL was accepted in 2013, and it primarily discovered a ton of natural matter gobbling up all the oxygen, leaving little left to help fish and different aquatic life,” defined Sandy Wingert, an environmental scientist who’s been with UDWQ since 2007 and manages floor water high quality issues within the Provo and Jordan River Basins.

The preliminary water high quality plan proposed that a rise in water stream might result in a profit in dissolved oxygen ranges. To check this concept, Sandy and her workforce wanted elevated water flows, however navigating the complicated system of water rights to safe these flows proved difficult. 

To perform these experiments, a big collaboration of companions was key to facilitating the distribution and supply of elevated water into the decrease Jordan River from Utah Lake. Employees from the Nice Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Belief and UDWQ coordinated carefully over the past yr with water managers to work out all the fine-scale particulars wanted to make the experiment occur:

• The Utah Lake/Jordan River Commissioner with the Division of Water Rights (UDWRi) and JVWCD workers helped convey the water from Utah Lake down the Jordan Narrows part of the Jordan River via a number of dams and buildings to make sure the water was not diverted and stayed within the river.
• As soon as the water passes via the Joint Dam Diversion within the Jordan Narrows, it’s measured instream and stays within the Jordan River via the Salt Lake Valley to 2100 South. At 2100 South, UDWRi’s Decrease Jordan River Commissioner adjusts flows happening the decrease Jordan River at one other dam, including 10 cfs per day for 5 days as much as a most of fifty extra cfs. The extra 50 cfs is held for 5 days, after which ramped again down 10 cfs a day for 5 extra days till flows attain pre-experiment circumstances.
• Wetland managers at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Administration Space and New State Duck Membership wanted to be ready for extra flows coming to their wetlands via the system to stream to Nice Salt Lake, adjusting their gates and water infrastructure all through the 2-week experiment.

All of those companions had been instrumental in making certain that the extra flows, with the goal stream charges and timing, reached the decrease Jordan River whereas additionally stopping the extra water from adversely impacting managed wetlands downstream.

“This actually highlights that the Jordan River is a extremely managed system, with so many entities concerned in water administration. We’re actually appreciative of all the efforts of companions who’ve contributed to make this experiment doable,” mentioned Jodi.

Earlier than the rise in stream within the decrease Jordan River, UDWQ’s crew collected pre-experiment information to decide baseline circumstances.

September fifteenth marked the primary day of a 5-day ramp-up as water incrementally elevated via the decrease Jordan River System to about 50 extra cfs, or cubic ft per second, above base flows (sometimes round 150 cfs within the stretch of the Jordan River this time of yr). Throughout this ramp-up interval, subject workers had been out two instances a day at 9 particular person monitoring places between 2100 South and all the way in which right down to Farmington Bay Waterfowl Administration Space (WMA).

“Three of those have already got stream gauges, and 4 have long-term sensors that measure subject parameters reminiscent of DO and water temperature,” defined Sandy. 

This offers their workforce the flexibility to not solely make the most of historic DO charges but in addition monitor the real-time relationship between DO and stream. Moreover, UDWQ put in short-term DO loggers on the remaining websites.

Whereas at every monitoring station, the crew is amassing chemical samples in addition to stream charges. Chemical sampling is completed by amassing water at every web site for evaluation.

How do they measure stream? With a Q-Boat after all.

As purposeful as it’s cute, this small boat is outfitted with gear to quickly calculate the stream charge, making certain the validity of the experiment and saving the crew important time. 

Just a few of the Belief’s workers had the chance to affix three of UDWQ’s subject workers as they performed their first day of analysis. The thrill was evident, and the crew moved shortly via all 9 websites earlier than their last sampling simply above the place the Jordan River enters Farmington Bay WMA.

After the ramp-up interval, the max stream was held for five days, adopted by a 5-day ramp again down. Crews sampled each 2-3 days throughout these durations.

It’ll take six months for the water chemistry outcomes to return again, however with the real-time steady DO and temperature information, UDWQ’s workforce could have a good suggestion of what’s occurring.

“UDWQ’s focus is on enhancing water high quality within the decrease Jordan River. Whereas we don’t have management over the amount of water, the data gained from this research can inform those that handle flows,” mentioned Jodi. “The bigger query is then, can we handle stream regimes to enhance and keep the habitat high quality and to maintain the water high quality over time?”

A query that speaks to the ever-increasing fact that in a watershed the place every thing is linked, proactive administration and mitigation, reminiscent of elevated stream, have advantages that attain far past the meant topic. Larger water downstream not solely offers advantages for Nice Salt Lake and Jordan River, but in addition our understanding of find out how to higher handle the Jordan River to learn everybody.

Put up-flow fieldwork will wrap up on the finish of September, and the outcomes will likely be shared with the general public and water managers throughout the subsequent yr. Within the meantime, companions just like the Belief are grateful to Sandy, Jodi, and the complete workforce at UDWQ for his or her persistence and fervour as all of us work collectively to raised perceive how we will take care of and handle a few of our state’s most important ecosystems.