Question 1

Why is Pineview Reservoir being drained in 2026?

Accepted Answer

As of November 2, 2026, Pineview Reservoir is at 4,832.9 ft, 1.61 ft above the all-time record low. The 2026 drawdown is deliberate: Ogden City is replacing the 36-inch pipeline that runs beneath the reservoir, and reaching it means taking the water off it. Storage is planned to fall to about 2,000 acre-feet by October 1, roughly 1.7 percent of capacity and the lowest since the 1970s. Construction runs into early January 2027, with refill through the following winter and spring as runoff allows.

Question 2

What is the pipeline under Pineview Reservoir?

Accepted Answer

It is a 36-inch culinary water line that carries roughly half of Ogden's drinking water and, per Ogden City, loses about a million gallons a day. The submerged section has been in service approximately 55 years. Replacement is part of a roughly $100 million program running from 2025 through 2029, and the city says residents should not expect any interruption to culinary service.

Question 3

Has Pineview ever been this low before?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Monthly records back to 1936 show the reservoir emptied to zero acre-feet in October 1970 and drawn to 30 acre-feet in October 1956, both on purpose. The daily record since late 1977 bottomed at 1,827 acre-feet in October 1992. The 2026 target of about 2,000 acre-feet would be roughly the lowest in more than thirty years, but nowhere near an all-time low.

Question 4

How bad was Utah's snowpack in 2026?

Accepted Answer

The 2025-26 water year produced the lowest statewide snowpack in Utah's modern record. On April 1, 2026, statewide snow water equivalent was 2.7 inches, about 19 percent of normal, after Utah's warmest winter on record. That is part of why the Pineview pipeline work was moved forward from 2027: the reservoir was already headed for an unusually low year.

Question 5

How deep is Pineview Reservoir?

Accepted Answer

Pineview is broad and shallow. At full pool, elevation 4,900 feet, it covers 2,874 acres and holds 110,150 acre-feet, a mean depth of roughly 38 feet, with the depth concentrated in the old river channel near the dam, where the normal operating depth is 89 feet. Because it is shallow, a drawdown removes surface area very fast.

Question 6

Can you still fish Pineview during the drawdown?

Accepted Answer

Yes, with loosened limits. On July 2, 2026 the Utah DWR issued emergency rules for Pineview, in effect through December 31, 2026: a combined 12 largemouth or smallmouth bass, one tiger muskie over 40 inches, and no limit on all other species. The aim is to harvest fish that would otherwise die as the shrinking pool turns warm and oxygen-poor. DWR warned the reservoir might not be boatable by the end of July.

Question 7

Is it safe to eat fish caught at Pineview?

Accepted Answer

Utah carries a mercury advisory for Pineview smallmouth bass specifically, not every species. It advises 8 servings a month for most adults, 2 for women 16 to 50 who may become pregnant and youth 6 to 16, and 1 for pregnant or nursing women and children under 6. It is a limit on how much to eat, not a prohibition, and the higher 2026 catch limits do not change it.

Question 8

Is it safe to swim in Pineview Reservoir?

Accepted Answer

Utah DEQ samples Pineview's beaches during the recreation season and posts advisories, but it issues no safe-to-swim statement for any Utah water; its guidance is when in doubt, stay out. Blooms can appear between samples, so avoid green scums, streaks, mats, or paint-like water, and keep dogs out entirely. The 2026 drawdown concentrates nutrients into a smaller, warmer pool, conditions cyanobacteria favor.

Question 9

Are Pineview's boat ramps open in 2026?

Accepted Answer

Access is unusually limited in 2026. Port Ramp Marina and the Windsurfer Beach trailhead closed November 21, 2025 for a full rebuild, with the closure order running through December 31, 2026. As the drawdown lowered the water, Anderson Cove closed to motorized launching and Cemetery Point was expected to stop reaching water around mid-August. Middle Inlet, Spring Creek, and Pelican Beach remain as day-use access.

Pineview Reservoir Map

Common questions

More of this Data Watch