Community swim today across the Jordan River

SOUTH JORDAN — The Great Salt Lakekeeper is sponsoring a community swim across the Jordan River today with writer and amateur swimmer Akiko Busch.

The event, scheduled for shortly after 1 p.m., kicks off the Great Salt Lakekeeper's swimmable waters campaign, which will include a series of lectures and workshops.

"Swimming in rivers has been a recreational tradition in America for many generations, but is declining in popularity because of pollution and growing public perceptions that our nation's waterways are either unsafe for human use or off limits for recreation," said Jeff Salt, spokesman for the Great Salt Lakekeeper.

The swim will begin near the Shield's Lane trailhead parking lot, at approximately 1100 W. 9800 South in South Jordan.

The federal Clean Water Act requires that the nation's waterways be swimmable and fishable. Despite the federal requirement, none of Utah's rivers and streams, and only 9 percent of the state's lakes and reservoirs, are specifically designated as protected for swimming, according to the Great Salt Lakekeeper.