Salt Lake City Public Utilities
Riparian Corridor Stream Study
History of Project

Riparian Corridor Overlay (RCO) Stream Study

History of Project

The Riparian Corridor Ordinance was passed on July 22, 2008.  In conjunction with the ordinance, City Council allocated funding for an intensive scientific study to be conducted on the inner-city stream corridors of City, Red Butte, Emigration and Parleys Creeks.  At that time it was also decided that Salt Lake City Public Utilities (SLCDPU) would manage the stream study and facilitate transparency in all study processes with the public and a sub-committee group. 

Mayor Becker endorsed the study by saying the following:   “Our goal is that this study will use a collaborative approach to information exchange, joint information gathering, consultation, and consensus in a way that will promote legitimacy and transparency, encourage creative problem‐solving, and support a timely implementation.”  

In July of 2008 a sub-committee of representatives from the Salt Lake City Public Utilities Advisory Committee, relevant public agencies, local advocacy groups and homeowners was formed to provide input to SLCDPU on every component of the study at quarterly meetings and through correspondence.

▪ To view the list of sub-committee members please visit: http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/utilities/ud_riparian_corridor_stream_study.htm 

To begin the process of selecting the most qualified and economical firm to conduct the study, SLCDPU, along with the stream study sub-committee, designed the parameters of the stream study and published a scope-of-work in conjunction with a ‘request for proposal’ document in late July. 

In September of 2008, Bio-West, Inc., a highly qualified and local environmental consulting firm based in Logan, UT, was selected to complete the scientific study and manage public outreach for the project over a 2 year period. 

▪ For more information about Bio-West, Inc. please visit their website, Bio-West.com. 

The study addresses the ecological, hydrological and infrastructure components within 100 feet of each side of the relevant inner city riparian corridors on private and public land.  This study is separate from the research done in conjunction with the Salt Lake County Water Quality Stewardship Plan (WaQSP), but does use valuable information from that study.  For information about the WaQSP, please visit the Salt Lake County website.
 http://www.waterresources.slco.org/html/waterQualityStewardship/WaQSP_Final.html

In September of 2008 Bio-West began the stream study on Red Butte and Emigration Creeks and wrapped up the field work for the 2008 field season in November.  All photographs and data will be posted on the riparian corridor stream study website and continuously updated as data is collected. 

▪ http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/utilities/ud_riparian_corridor_stream_study.htm 

Meetings requesting input from the public will be conducted as a series of 4 meetings for each creek.  The meeting cycles will commence for each creek simultaneously with the start of the stream study for that creek.  These meetings are a key way for interested parties to express their concerns, bring recommendations to the table and provide valuable information to the City and the research team.  All meeting materials, minutes and presentations for these public meetings, as well as sub-committee meetings is available on the stream study website.  

For data or meeting information for each creek, please visit the following sites: 

▪City Creek

http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/utilities/Stream Study Website/ud_rcs_citycreek.htm

▪Red Butte Creek

http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/utilities/Stream Study Website/ud_rcs_redbuttecreek.htm

▪Emigration Creek

http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/utilities/Stream Study Website/ud_rcs_emigrationcreek.htm

▪Parleys Creek

http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/utilities/Stream Study Website/ud_rcs_parleyscreek.htm  

Stream Study Timelines:

Riparian Corridor Ordinance: Timeline