By Silvia Catten, Jordan River Commission Chair and Millcreek Councilmember
October 2024 Newsletter
Before my appointment to the Jordan River Commission (JRC) in 2018, I admittedly knew very little about the river. But in the last few years I’ve had the privilege to serve and learn how important this piece of nature is to our entire valley. The 51-mile-long, north-flowing waterway connects Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake and has been a critical ecological feature of our valley for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence suggests it was used by Archaic nomadic populations some 3,000 years ago, followed by local indigenous peoples like the Utes and Shoshones, and later, Mormon settlers.
Modern populations used it for sewage and waste disposal, contributing to its decades-long polluted state before the federal Clean Water Act was enacted in the 1970s. Around the same time, the Jordan River Parkway was officially established bringing flood control measures, cleanup, and plans for recreational opportunities. The Blueprint Jordan River was created in 2008 as an official and comprehensive plan to support a vision that the river could be a defining amenity for the region. The work that is going into the many urban and ecological developments in and around the entire river is unprecedented and continuous. Here are a few highlights from this year:
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s America the Beautiful Challenge Grant has awarded a $5 million pot of funds that will directly impact ecological restoration along the Jordan River.
Millcreek City has made investments to utilize the river as a mode of transportation and recreational convenience to residents. The newly constructed trail loop and bridge on the east side of the river brings the Parkway into Millcreek and will eventually connect some of our westside neighborhoods to the river. Plans for improved parking and other amenities at our section of the Parkway are currently underway.
Additional trail connections to the Jordan River Parkway were included in UDOT’s first round of funding for the Utah Trail Network—a $95 million investment, which includes $10 million for the 3900 South shared use path from West Temple to the Parkway trail.
Other notable initiatives on the river include large housing developments in Saratoga Springs that will bring improvements and standards to the south end of the river, the Point of the Mountain (old prison site) development, and the newly-planned Power District near the State Fairpark in Salt Lake City, which includes plans for a new MLB stadium featuring the river as a focal point of the area.
As my time as Chair of the Commission for the last two years comes to an end, I’ve reflected on the work the JRC is doing to protect the river, which includes a vision that the river is for everyone, and that we are all stewards of this precious resource. I take that to heart and believe it to be true. It seems fitting that the river is a part of our city—we are, after all, connected by nature
