The Jordan River in Utah is at risk of contamination due to the illegal dumping of concrete materials in the Jordan wetlands. The contamination has yet to spread to the River itself, but federal investigations are underway due to a video obtained by the U.S Army on January 7th, displaying various compounds being poured onto property owned by Owell Precast (now known as Olympus Precast), an American precast company serving government, commercial and residential sectors for their concrete needs. The dumping of these concrete materials is in violation of the Clean Water Act and the company is not in possession of any permits to justify these actions. Bill Ashton, the co-owner of the company in question will not comment on these allegations
This is nowhere near the first time the Jordan River has been used as a draining system for big companies such as Owell. This river has been a repository for waste since Salt Lake Valley was founded. For over 100 year, animal and farm runoff, mining material remains etc. It has since been regulated by the Utah Division of Water Quality by doing their best to ensure the river complies with the Clean Water Act, which is Owell precast cannot get away with these actions anymore. This river runs through four of the six major cities in Utah and is now seen as a sad embarassment for the pollution within the state, as opposed to a beautiful landmark where citizens can appreciate its beauty. It is disappointing when the concrete industry is tied with stories that counteract sustainability and Go Green initiatives, but it is believed that lately there have been more positive than negative actions.
Sources: Owell Precast (now Olympus Precast), Maffley, Salt Lake Tribune
