A popular northern Utah reservoir has fallen to its lowest point in decades, creating a striking contrast for how it typically appears even in the waning weeks of summer.

Ogden City used a decades-old agreement to drawdown Pineview Reservoir in order to upgrade a drinking water pipeline. The city landed $100 million in public infrastructure funds for the overhaul, including a low-interest federal loan awarded in 2024.

The city initially intended to begin its replacement project in 2027, but opted to take advantage of Utah’s poor winter that left Pineview with little new water to store this year anyway.

But not all water managers agree with the timing.

“I’m stressed out,” said Scott Paxman, general manager of Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, which manages the Pineview reservoir and dam. “We told Ogden it’s never a good idea to drain a reservoir, whether you think you need to or not.”

The reservoir currently sits at 23% of capacity, the lowest since 1970. The spillgates remain open, however, and plans call for emptying Pineview to 2% of capacity by Sept. 15.

So far, most of the drained water has gone to irrigation — on farmland, lawns and gardens, Paxman said. The last of the pool may get stored in Willard Bay, depending on user demands downstream.

All the expanding beaches and exposed reservoir bed haven’t turned up any interesting artifacts of note so far, unlike grisly discoveries at Lake Mead and Lake Powell as those reservoirs hit historic lows due to drought.

“I’m guessing there’s probably going to be some surprises,” Paxman said of Pineview. “We’ll see.”

Utah Recreation Company, the concessionaire that runs campgrounds and day-use areas along the reservoir, declined to comment for this story. But reservoir levels are so low that it appears only small boats and personal watercraft can launch from the ramp at Cemetery Point.

Anderson Cove boat launch closed on July 20. The Port Ramp at Windsurfer Beach is also closed this year for repairs and construction of a larger day-use site.

The U.S. Forest Service, which manages land and recreational access around Pineview, said it expects the Cemetery Point ramp to remain open for another week. A spokesperson encouraged boaters, campers and paddlers to call the agency for regular updates.

“Visitation has slowed,” the spokesperson said, “but there are still plenty of recreation opportunities at Pineview.”

Biologists have not observed any impacts to fish at Pineview so far, according to a spokesperson with the Utah Division of Wildlife.

“The water levels still have a ways to go until the final drawdown level,” the spokesperson wrote in an email, “but by that point, the water temperatures should have started cooling down, which will be better for the fish.”

The last time Pineview was drained this low was when Ogden City did other pipeline work in 1970, Paxman said. The water district and the city have an agreement that allows drawdown every seven years. While that hasn’t been necessary until now, Paxman said times have changed and it’s time to renegotiate the deal.

“It was 100% irrigation back then,” Paxman said. “As we change to more municipal uses, especially drinking water ... it becomes less flexible.”

Ogden City is replacing 6.4 miles of old, leaky pipes, which city officials expect to save 1 million gallons of water each day.

More information about the Pineview drawdown project, including a construction schedule, is available at ogdencitypipeline.com.