Drownings prompt warnings for Jordan River safety

SALT LAKE CITY — After the drowning of two kayakers on the Jordan River last Sunday, Jeff Salt, a watershed protection activist, urged state, county and city officials to take action Thursday.

The work would include installation of warning signs and a boat ramp, as well as creating accessible river maps.

The river stakeholder's group, organized by Salt, who is executive director of the Great Salt Lake Keeper, agreed to immediately begin ordering and posting proper warning signs upstream of the Winchester bridge, in the area of 6400 South and 1200 West, where the kayakers — Joseph Glasser, 49, and Kelly Glasser, 51, of Sandy — died.

Warning signs on the Winchester bridge were removed a few years ago to install a pedestrian walkway. The signs were apparently never replaced.

Salt's group is also investigating which government entity among West Jordan, Midvale, Murray or Salt Lake County should take responsibility for the bridge.

"We're not here to blame. We're here to solve the problem," Salt said.

There are two signs on the west side of the river, upstream from the bridge, including one that reads "Danger, drowning hazard ahead, all boats must exit." However, the signs are hidden by vegetation. Another sign along the path is a typical stop sign, which officials say is confusing to boaters.

While the signs warn boaters to exit the river, their only choice is to climb up a steep bank of rough rocks and thick brush to a pedestrian trail. The stakeholder's group is looking at installing a boat ramp upstream to help boaters more easily exit the river.

Directly downstream from the Winchester bridge is a massive underwater concrete slab that acts as a water spillway. The concrete stretches 40 feet across the river and is followed by three levels of small boulders which create several-feet-high drop-offs. At the end of each drop-off, the water plunges onto the rocks below and recirculates.

The kayakers reportedly became trapped somewhere in this area — either thrown against the boulders or trapped by the recirculating current and froth, which is a mixture of air and water and has no density. Bodies and life jackets tend to sink in the froth. Police are still investigating the kayakers' deaths.