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Accident Database: Accident #1059

River: Jordan
Section: Utah Lake to Rose Park
Location: Near Murray, UT
Water Level: High
Difficulty: VI
Accident Code(s): Lowhead Dam
Injury Code(s): Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal
Experienced/Inexperienced: Experienced
Private/Commercial: Private
Boat Type: Open Canoe
Number of Occupants: 2
Number in Group: 2
Number of Victims: 1
Hazard Codes: Hydraulic/Keeper Hole, High Water
Initial Report: This section of river is AW stretch 1857 (which I need to update) The difficulty is class I-II, and at 800-900 cfs I would call the level high, but not in flood stage. Apparently the victim was wearing a life jacket. What is referred to as a "water fall" in the article is actually a weir for one of the numerous diversion canals along this stretch. The men put back in too close to the recirculating hole and were pulled upstream back into the hydraulic. I visited the site yesterday afternoon and it is a river-wide, uniform hole with backwash extending nearly 20 feet from the structure. Also, the brush is rather thick along the banks which might have forced them to launch further upstream rather than proceeding to the next opening. I hope to get a picture of the weir/hydraulic some time this weekend. Northern Utah has a higher than average snow pack this year. We're also in a second season of a wet period and many of reservoirs are near full. (Necessitating high flows in channels in order to create storage room.) The Jordan river flows out of Utah Lake which is governed by various agreements and legal contracts requiring the lake to be kept below a certain "Compromise Elevation" -- we're currently about 1-foot above this level, and every effort is being made to dump water before the melt begins in earnest. Flows were approximately 900 cfs on Saturday in a very small channel that normally sees 200-300 cfs. In summary it appears that unfamiliarity with the significant hazard a low head dam presents and higher than normal flows all contributed to this fatality. Please feel free to contact me with questions. I hope this is the only event I'll need to report this year. respectfully, Ed Clark AW Jordan River Streamkeeper Colorado Basin River Forecast Center;NOAA/NWS edward.clark@noaa.gov
Report Status: On Going