Love Your Watershed challenge encourages Utahns to keep Jordan River clean

SALT LAKE CITY — The Jordan River runs through three counties and 16 cities, connecting communities across northern Utah. Now, mayors from across the watershed are joining forces to protect the river and improve water quality.

The message here is simple — keeping the Jordan River clean starts long before you get to the river. The Jordan River runs through three counties and 16 cities. And today, mayors from across the watershed launched a new yearlong challenge to help keep it clean.

"Bringing education and awareness to the public about our storm water system — everything that goes down our storm drains ends up in the Jordan River," said Rachel Lyn, communications and outreach manager for the Jordan River Commission.

The "Love Your Watershed" challenge asks people to clean up litter and other pollution before it reaches those drains.

"If you are paddling in the river, you do see the impact of our storm drains. You can see plastic and bottles and bags and other things. You can see chemicals that sometimes are a little bit of a sheen on the surface of the water," said Soren Simonsen, executive director of the Jordan River Commission and Watershed Council.

Mayors say they want that cleanup to start at home and spread across their communities. "We are participating in the mayors' challenge, and for our National Day of Service, we have asked everyone to go to their storm drains, to their gutters, to clean them — and that education," Bluffdale Mayor Natalie Hall said.

The challenge is launching alongside the Get to the River Festival. There will be more than 50 free events throughout September. The service day is set for Sept. 11.

The full Get to the River Festival schedule and additional ways to get involved are available at jordanrivercommission.gov/get-to-the-river-festival/ and jordanrivercommission.gov/get-involved/love-your-watershed/.

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