Pineview Dam is located in Ogden Canyon, 7 mi east of Ogden, Utah, United States.

Description

Pineview Dam is located at the eastern end of Ogden Canyon at the confluence of the north, south, and center forks of the Ogden River. The western half of present-day Huntsville is located between the central and southern bays of Pineview Reservoir. State Route 158 crosses the dam and runs adjacent on the north and west, former State Route 166 on the north and east, and State Route 39 on the southeast and south. The dam was developed as a means of providing reliable irrigation to 25000 acres located between the Wasatch Range and the Great Salt Lake. It was built as part of the Ogden River Project, which included the Pineview Dam and Reservoir, Ogden Canyon Conduit, Ogden-Brigham Canal, South Ogden Highline Canal, and a gravity-pressure distribution located in the South Ogden Conservation District. Its shape is similar to that of an airliner or a bird.

Climate

History

The Ogden River irrigated approximately 3000 acres of land in the Ogden area before 1900. Increasing diversions led to a shortfall of irrigation flow during the late summer months. The Geological Survey 1921 established stream gauging stations along the river. A storage reservoir recommendation was made shortly after that by the Bureau of Reclamation, and investigations continued until 1932. The Pineview site was then adopted for a 30,000 acre.foot reservoir. President Roosevelt authorized the Ogden River Project on November 16, 1935. Fund allotment had begun in 1933 under the National Industrial Recovery Act. Construction began on September 29, 1934. Completion of the Pineview dam and Ogden-Brigham Canal occurred in June 1937. The South Ogden Highline Canal was constructed between 1938-1941. Its construction is a zone earthfill dam type containing 15500 cuyd of earth, rock and riprap materials. The crest of the dam is at 4908.0 ft, is 30 ft wide and 600 ft long. Its initial height was 103 ft, resulting in a 44,175 acre.foot capacity. The later Weber Basin Project increased the height of the dam to 137 ft, enlarging the capacity to 110,150 acre.ft. By using radial gates, the dam functions with an overflow, channel-type spillway allowing for a flow rate of 10000 cuft/s. The Ogden City Conduit is fed by a 72 x conduit at 2300 cuft/s. A stillout is fed from the same conduit through a 60 inch outlet. A wye adapter on the 72 in conduit allows additional discharge into the stillout, while 42 in conduit feeds the Ogden City filtration plant located downstream. At 4.7 mi down the Ogden River Canyon, the Ogden River Conduit splits into the Ogden-Brigham and South Ogden Highline canals. The Highline canal is fed through a 36 inch diameter, 360 ft long steel siphon suspended across the mouth of the canyon. The Ogden-Brigham canal has a flow rate of approximately 120 cuft/s, while the Highline canal flows at 35 cuft/s over 5.2 mi.

Benefits

At present capacity, the Pineview Reservoir is capable of irrigating 24801 acres of land. This greatly improved irrigation capacity and distribution, allowing for the growth of all manner of crops. The reservoir also acts as a recreational area located very close to Ogden and the nearby areas. Camping, boating, water-skiing and personal watercraft use, as well as trout, bass, crappie and wall-eyed pike fishing are popular activities in the recreational area. Nearly one million people visited the area in 1996. Flood control has been estimated at nearly ten million dollars between the years of 1950 and 1999. The capacity of the dam and its ability to discharge water at up to 1600 cuft per second into the Ogden River have proved beneficial during times of intense water accumulation. Pineview also provides hydroelectric power to the grid via a 2500 hp, horizontal Francis turbine coupled to an 1,800 kW turbine. This project was completed in 1991, and diverts water from the 75 in conduit, returning it after use. The operational capacity is rated between 130 and 300 cuft/s. Pineview Reservoir is one of only three lakes in Utah that house the tiger muskie, a sterile hybrid fish. These fish have a torpedo shaped body, with vertical "tiger" striping on the sides. They also have many sharp canine like teeth. It is not uncommon for a tiger muskie to grow up to 3 - 4 ft in length and weigh as much as 40 lbs.