West Jordan, Utah Section 206 Environmental
River Restoration Project

This project is intended to broaden the Jordan River management vision from the historic goals of erosion and flood control to encompass the additional objective of enhancing river-based wildlife habitats. The project focuses on restoring functional aquatic, riparian, and wetland habitats along a reach of the Jordan River. The study reach currently flows in a dredged channel incised approximately 12 feet below the historic flood plain. This limits instream fish and wildlife habitat and precludes development of riparian or wetland vegetation along the river.

A study conducted by H&C, Inc. established baseline conditions of the river’s geomorphology, hydrology, hydraulic processes, and included identification of riverine habitats for restoration. H&C completed a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that examined in detail several potential restoration design options and selected one option for the final design.

The restoration options include a realignment of one section of the river to recreate a more diverse channel than currently exists, complete with a flood plain that will be inundated periodically and will support riparian vegetation. Our emphasis in creating riparian habitat is to improve conditions for neotropical migrant songbirds, many species of which rely on riparian habitats for breeding habitat or as stopover sites during migration through the otherwise arid Great Basin. Another design will leave the river in its present channel and create a benched floodplain adjacent to the river. Again, this option is intended to encourage riparian vegetation and improve wildlife habitat along the river. Our analysis of the two options includes water surface profiling, sediment transport and sediment balance modeling, and prediction of flood plain inundation and groundwater levels needed to support riparian vegetation.

The final design has been carefully analyzed to ensure that it does not increase flooding along the river and that the restored channel will remain in dynamic equilibrium with the rest of the Jordan River. The final design includes plans for replanting native riparian vegetation and controlling invasive exotic vegetation.