From Deseret News archives:
River advocates swim across the Jordan
Jeff Salt, head of the Great Salt Lakekeeper group, and Akiko Busch, a writer and swimmer, swam across the river in South Jordan to advocate water quality throughout the state's lakes and rivers.
"The reason why we are here today is to assert our public right to recreate in 'swimmable waters' and to effect change in local regulatory and management policies," Salt said during a press conference at the Jordan River.
The Utah Division of Water Quality has designated only 9 percent of the state's lakes and reservoirs protected for swimming and other recreation. Salt and Busch, in conjunction with Great Salt Lakekeeper, want the state to protect more areas where full human immersion can take place, such as swimming, kayaking and water skiing. They also hope the state will clean up the rivers and lakes that are polluted.
"Now's the time to deal with water quality," Salt said in an interview with the Deseret Morning News. "(Hopefully) we can extrapolate what we do here to other water areas."
Salt and Busch, who is visiting from New York, have spent the past week in Utah and southern Idaho advocating for water protection. They hope the swims will prod the community to action and press the Legislature to enact laws that protect and clean up Utah water.
Busch recently published a book entitled "Nine Ways to Cross a River." She has swum across eight or nine rivers, including the Hudson River in New York, the Delaware River and the Connecticut River, among others, advocating water quality.
"Despite the passage of the Clean Water Act some 35 years ago, a collective perception about the hostile waters of American rivers continues to keep us out of the water," Busch said. "It is my hope to begin to reverse those perceptions. It is also my hope that by immersing ourselves in the water, and by becoming reacquainted with the current ... we will begin to form a new allegiance and new sense of stewardship towards our waterways."
Salt had invited the public to attend the swim, and possibly swim with them; however, only three community members arrived to watch the swim. Salt said people in the community won't swim in the river, even in the spots where it is safe, such as South Jordan.
"The state has failed to protect this river as a resource for the public," Salt said.
The areas of the river in southern Salt Lake County are some of the only clean spots, Salt said, because the cities have made an effort to keep them cleaner.
Busch will speak at the City Library tonight at 7 p.m. in the Nancy Tessman Auditorium.
E-mail: csmith@desnews.com
