Robert Lainhart
Nick Bradley
Enviro Sci.
In Environmental Science class, we wanted to test the water quality of the
Jordan River in Salt Lake City, UT. The Jordan River begins at Utah Lake and then flows downstream to the Great Salt Lake. Along with Utah Lake, the Jordan River has watersheds located high in the mountains of the Wasatch and Uintah. The water then flows through largely populated urban areas, which contributes to the pollution. The river flows by residential areas, industrial areas, and even military areas, all of which contribute to the quality of this river. Although the banks of the river are quite populated with plants, it’s only a mater of meters to the urban world.
Because of this urban flow the water is very murky and smells of sewage, oil, and rotten eggs. It is clearly not a very sanitary river, which is why we wanted to test the actual quality of it.
We first observed characteristics of the river and the surrounding area. This was needed so we could have a better understanding of why we found the WQI results that we did. We looked for things such as vegetation, irrigation, erosions, urban elements, etc. so we could use some of these factors to explain exactly why the river could be as polluted as it is.
We then tested for Fecal Coliform. Fecal Coliform is very important to test for, as it is a major contributor to the total WQI. The fecal coliform results also allow us to observe what types of bacteria can be transferred from various amounts of

exposure to this water. We collected 10 .5ml samples of water from the river and then added it to a formula, which allowed various bacterial colonies to grow. We then observed the total number of colonies that grew. More important than the total number of colonies were the colonies of E-coli, which is a very harmful bacteria to humans. We needed to find the amount of E-coli to determine if the water was safe to be in contact with.
During our observations of the river, we found various different characteristics that were somewhat alarming. Other factors that we found would be expected in a river of this type. Some of our observations are located below.
Day of Testing
 Date: 10/27/10
 Time: 1:15 Pm
 Current Weather: Sunny
 Previous 2 days (including earlier in the testing day): Snowy and cold
 Air Temp at time of testing: 43˚F (6˚C)
 Estimated Elevation: 4223 ft.
 Latitude and Longitude of test: 40˚ 45.006’N 111˚ 55.248’W
 Stream Habitat: Glide (smooth moving water)
 Average Water Temp: 10.1˚C
 Average Width: 40 ft.
 Average Flow For Test Day: 153 ft 3 /sec
 Smell of Water: Sewage, Oil, Rotten Eggs
 Soil Smell: No Unusual Smells
 Water Appearance: Cloudy, Muddy, Tea
 Algal Growth: None
 The water appeared to be straightened or channelized
 No upstream dam
 No watershed treatment plant discharges upstream
 There were visible pipes emptying into the water.
 Substrate Composition: Bedrock, Gravel, Silt
 Overhead Canopy: about 25% of river was shaded.
 Left Bank: 60% shrubs, 10% grass, 5% conifer, 10% un-vegetated, 15% other
 Right Bank: 70% shrubs, 5% grass, 5% conifer, 5% un-vegetated, 15% other

 Streambank vegetation: mostly native vegetation, mildly disturbed
 Agricultural Uses: Pesticide/herbicide use
 Animal uses
 Industrial uses
 Commercial uses
 Park area uses
 Dense residential area
 Construction uses
 Agricultural Water Supply
 Other uses
 Agricultural runoff
 Livestock yard runoff
 Industrial discharge
 Other runoff/discharge
The main subject of our testing was the amount of fecal coliform in the water.
After collecting 10 .5ml samples of the water from the river and adding them to a formula to help the bacteria grow, we put each of the 10 solutions into petri dishes.
Then we incubated the samples at about 96˚ F for 48 hours. The incubation process allows the bacteria to grow so into colonies that we can visibly count with out own eyes. For each of the 10 petri dishes we counted the total number of colonies that grew and the colonies of e-coli that grew. Every yellow spot was determined to be a normal colony while all of the purple spots were colonies of e-coli. The data we collected is below.
Samples
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Observed E-
Coli Colonies
4
4
8
6
5
7
8
5
11
E-Coli
Colonies per
100 ml.
800
800
1600
1200
1000
1400
1600
1000
2200

10
Average
Samples
9
6.7
1800
1340
5
6
7
8
1
2
3
4
9
10
Average
Total
Observed
Colonies
119
141
151
134
281
112
100
103
264
115
152
Total
Colonies per
100 ml.
23800
28200
30200
26800
56200
22400
20000
20600
52800
23000
30400
We then compared our data to the graph used to find the Q value for fecal coliform. We found that 1340 col./100 ml. equals a Q value of 21. This means that the water is 21% as clean as it possibly could be. A Q value of 21 with a weighting factor of .16 comes to be a value on the water quality index of 3.36. This is an extremely low value meaning that the water has a very high fecal coliform count and will greatly affect the total water quality level. To give some perspective drinking water should have 1 E-Coli colony per 100 ml; In order to swim the water should have less than 200 total colonies of e-coli per 100 ml; For the body to come in partial contact with the water, such as boating, fishing, etc., the water should have no more than 1000 colonies per 100 ml. The water we tested had an average of 1340 colonies per 100 ml., which means we should never even come in contact with the water. If anyone were to swim, drink, or have any other major contact with the water there would be a fairly good chance that they could contract a disease from

the E-Coli. Based on our tests of fecal coliform at the Jordan River, the water is greatly contaminated and is not safe to be around.
The only problem we had with the testing procedure was that it was an extreme challenge to count the total number of colonies because there were so many, they were so small, and it was difficult to distinguish between them. That seemed to be our only struggle.
Looking over the entire project we can make various conclusions. First, in regards to our mere river observations, we can clearly see that the river is in a heavily populated urban environment which greatly helps contribute to it uncleanliness. We see sewage runoff, storm runoff, industrial runoff, and many more factors that lead to the pollution of the water. With our main subject, fecal coliform, we can conclude that the river is extremely polluted and has the potential to be extremely harmful to anyone who comes in contact with it. It is quite clear that drastic measures need to be taken by members of the Salt Lake valley in order to thoroughly reduce the pollution in the Jordan River; the problem is that this is not a very practical goal. The most likely causes of the high amounts of fecal contamination are things such as sewage runoff, animal excrement being introduced into the water, and the amount of trash and waste that finds its way into the river.
Another factor that could have contributed to the extremely high levels of fecal coliform was the recent weather. In the days before we tested there was a lot of rain and snow, which lead to an increase in runoff leading into the river. As the water runs off along streets and through the residential areas, the fecal matter is picked up and therefore transported into the river’s water. The accumulation of these and

many more factors leads to extremely high amounts of fecal coliform and e-coli bacteria, which make the river very unsafe. From participating in this lab and actually physically testing the Jordan River we have gained a full understanding of just how polluted this river is and exactly why it has the reputation as the dirtiest river in Utah.
I (Robert) did a little more research after we had finished and I found that in
1962, the river was tested for fecal coliform and had a reading of 3,000,000 colonies per 100 ml. This was during the time when raw sewage was directed to and dumped into the Jordan River. Because of this alarming number a proper sewage treatment plant was built and reduced the number of raw sewage deposited into the river by
32,000,000 gallons a day.
I also put the pictures we took in Marley…