Pineview Dam, 1934
As Ogden and its surrounding communities grew, water users increasingly faced shortages. At the suggestion of the Bureau of Reclamation, the Ogden River Users’ Association was formed to identify the site for a new dam. A point not far from the mouth of Ogden Canyon was selected, and Utah Construction Company and Morrison-Knudsen won the construction bid in 1934 for $2.75 million. The entire project included the dam, additional canals, and a power line down Ogden Canyon.
Ogden City had long used the canyon’s artesian wells as a source of culinary water. The city refused to give up this water source, so the wells were capped underground and the water piped through the canyon into the city. Well water is still used by the city, and this is the only known system with artesian wells covered by a reservoir.
Utah Construction Company built a 103-foot high earth fill dam, which they completed in 1937. Nearly twenty years later, UCC expanded the dam and doubled the size of the reservoir. Highways into Huntsville, Liberty, and Eden were also relocated and constructed, as well as a 5.5 mile pipeline. This pipeline was Utah’s longest water tunnel and required eight months of blasting from two crews.
Construction of Pineview Dam eased tensions between competing water users and created much-needed jobs. At its peak, the project supplied 1,031 jobs to the community. The availability of inexpensive water was an incentive that drew in military contracts and encouraged development. Today it remains important for irrigation water, power generation, and as a popular recreation site.
