Winding southwesterly from Trail Lake in the High Uintas to Utah Lake just downstream of Orem, Provo River is one of the area’s natural wonders. It is home to three Blue Ribbon Fisheries between Jordanelle Reservoir and Provo Canyon. These sites are great locations for fly fishing and yield brown trout and other notable fishes in abundance.
Its banks also provide a multitude of opportunities for running hiking, and biking, especially along paved trails from Utah Lake to Vivian Park and in Midway in the Heber Valley.
The Provo River is also classified as a high quality water by the State of Utah. It is a source of drinking water for many municipalities. With a little treatment, the water from the river is safe for consumption by residents in many cities, including Orem.
In 1996, the City of Orem established the storm water utility. This entity was formed to establish the means to handle storm water runoff through a system of conveyances and sumps. This system is not only meant to dissipate the quantity of storm water runoff from rainstorms and snow melt, it is also in place to minimize the negative impacts to water bodies from harmful pollutants that can accompany storm water flows.
For these reasons and more, the Provo River deserves protection, Our City Storm Water Utility has included several items in our Storm Water Management Plan that aim at keeping the Provo River in good shape. Construction sites within 500 feet of the river are inspected more frequently. Also all storm water outfalls that drain into the Provo River are inspected annually and sampled regularly to confirm that discharges are as clean as they can be. These areas close to the Provo River are also included in our high priority area for illicit discharge detection activities.
All in all, we strive to keep the River clean. If you see something that could be a hazard or could endanger the quality of the water in the Provo River, give us a call or send us an email. We want to preserve the Provo River as a safe source water and a great location for fishing, tubing, walking, running and biking.
To learn more, visit any of these:
• https://utah.com/fishing/provo-river
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provo_River
• https://wildlife.utah.gov/hotspots/brwaterbody.php?id=31
• https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=384
