When Pineview Drops, a Piece of Ogden Valley’s Water History Reappears
By Ogden Valley Watershed Action Group - 25 September 2026
With Pineview Reservoir drawn down unusually low, parts of the old landscape that normally sit beneath the water are becoming visible again. One of the most fascinating is what appears to be one of the historic artesian wells that once supplied water to Ogden City and it is still flowing.
Long before Pineview Reservoir existed, the area near the former confluence of the North and Middle Forks of the Ogden River was known as Artesian Park. Beginning around 1914, Ogden City obtained much of its water from 46 flowing artesian wells located there.
An artesian well taps groundwater that is confined under pressure. If that pressure is high enough, water rises in the well without pumping and can actually flow at the ground surface much like what appears to be happening in this photograph today.
By Ogden Valley Watershed Action Group - 25 September 2026
With Pineview Reservoir drawn down unusually low, parts of the old landscape that normally sit beneath the water are becoming visible again. One of the most fascinating is what appears to be one of the historic artesian wells that once supplied water to Ogden City and it is still flowing.
Long before Pineview Reservoir existed, the area near the former confluence of the North and Middle Forks of the Ogden River was known as Artesian Park. Beginning around 1914, Ogden City obtained much of its water from 46 flowing artesian wells located there.
An artesian well taps groundwater that is confined under pressure. If that pressure is high enough, water rises in the well without pumping and can actually flow at the ground surface much like what appears to be happening in this photograph today.
With Pineview Reservoir drawn down unusually low, parts of the old landscape that normally sit beneath the water are becoming visible again. One of the most fascinating is what appears to be one of the historic artesian wells that once supplied water to Ogden City and it is still flowing.
Long before Pineview Reservoir existed, the area near the former confluence of the North and Middle Forks of the Ogden River was known as Artesian Park. Beginning around 1914, Ogden City obtained much of its water from 46 flowing artesian wells located there. (click to enlarge)
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When Pineview Reservoir was constructed in the 1930s, the landscape changed dramatically. Some of the old wells were plugged, while others were extended to higher ground before the reservoir filled. Those wells were eventually abandoned as Ogden City developed the modern well field adjacent to Pineview.
But the story did not entirely end there.
The Utah Geological Survey’s 2019 study of the Ogden Valley groundwater system found records of at least 51 wells drilled in the old Artesian Park area. Some had been abandoned before Pineview filled, while others remained until later decades. UGS noted that the condition of many of the wells at abandonment was unknown and that decades of deterioration could potentially affect old plugs, caps or well casings.
UGS specifically identified those abandoned wells as a possible conduit between Pineview Reservoir and the deeper confined aquifer.
Why does that matter?
Beneath Pineview is a deeper groundwater system known as the confined principal aquifer. Over much of the area, it is separated from shallower groundwater by a layer of clay and silt called a confining unit.
UGS mapped that layer in detail and found that while it is relatively thick in some areas, it is much thinner beneath portions of Pineview Reservoir because the old river channels eroded into it before the reservoir was built. That makes the relationship between Pineview and the deeper aquifer particularly interesting.
At the same time, pumping from the Ogden City well field has lowered groundwater pressure in the deeper aquifer, creating what hydrogeologists call a cone of depression.
UGS found that pumping at the well field measurably affects groundwater pressure elsewhere in the confined aquifer. The study also found that the direction of groundwater movement beneath Pineview can change depending on the relative elevations of the reservoir and the groundwater pressure below it.
When groundwater pressure is higher than the reservoir level, groundwater can move upward.
When Pineview is higher and pressure in the deeper aquifer is lower, particularly within the Ogden City well-field cone of depression, the hydraulic gradient can become downward.
That distinction is important.
UGS’s modeling indicated that thousands of acre-feet of Pineview Reservoir water may move toward the groundwater system, and the researchers identified two potential pathways into the deeper confined aquifer: leakage through the natural confining layer and leakage through old abandoned wells beneath the reservoir.
The study also detected tritium, an indicator of relatively modern water, in an Ogden City production well completed in the confined aquifer. That does not prove Pineview Reservoir was the source, and UGS was careful not to make that claim. But it does show that some relatively young water is reaching a groundwater system that also contains water with much longer residence times.
UGS ultimately concluded that leakage through the confining unit and/or abandoned well casings were plausible pathways that deserved consideration.
Which brings us back to this photograph.
If this is confirmed to be one of the historic Artesian Park wells, seeing it exposed and visibly flowing provides a remarkable glimpse into the groundwater system beneath Pineview.
Under the conditions shown in the photograph, groundwater pressure appears sufficient to push water upward through the old well to the exposed lakebed.
But groundwater gradients can change. When the reservoir is high and pumping lowers pressure in the deeper aquifer, the direction of movement can potentially reverse.
That makes these old wells more than an interesting piece of Ogden Valley history. It raises some worthwhile questions:
Where are the remaining historic wells? How were they abandoned? What condition are they in today? And could any still provide pathways between Pineview Reservoir, shallow groundwater and the deeper aquifer?
With Pineview drawn down so far, there may be a rare opportunity to document some of these historic features while they are exposed — information that could someday be useful to groundwater scientists and water managers as Ogden Valley continues to grow.
The larger lesson may be the most important one.
Pineview Reservoir, our streams, shallow groundwater and deeper aquifers are not separate water resources. They are connected parts of the same watershed.
Sometimes a low reservoir gives us an unusual opportunity to see that connection for ourselves.
Photo provided by Pete Gompert. Thank you to the photographer for documenting and sharing this unusual view.
Source: Utah Geological Survey, Characterization of the Groundwater System in Ogden Valley, Weber County, Utah, with Emphasis on Groundwater–Surface-Water Interaction and the Groundwater Budget*, Special Study 165, 2019. See especially pp. 6–7, 23–25, 30–35 and 68–72.
But the story did not entirely end there.
The Utah Geological Survey’s 2019 study of the Ogden Valley groundwater system found records of at least 51 wells drilled in the old Artesian Park area. Some had been abandoned before Pineview filled, while others remained until later decades. UGS noted that the condition of many of the wells at abandonment was unknown and that decades of deterioration could potentially affect old plugs, caps or well casings.
UGS specifically identified those abandoned wells as a possible conduit between Pineview Reservoir and the deeper confined aquifer.
Why does that matter?
Beneath Pineview is a deeper groundwater system known as the confined principal aquifer. Over much of the area, it is separated from shallower groundwater by a layer of clay and silt called a confining unit.
UGS mapped that layer in detail and found that while it is relatively thick in some areas, it is much thinner beneath portions of Pineview Reservoir because the old river channels eroded into it before the reservoir was built. That makes the relationship between Pineview and the deeper aquifer particularly interesting.
At the same time, pumping from the Ogden City well field has lowered groundwater pressure in the deeper aquifer, creating what hydrogeologists call a cone of depression.
UGS found that pumping at the well field measurably affects groundwater pressure elsewhere in the confined aquifer. The study also found that the direction of groundwater movement beneath Pineview can change depending on the relative elevations of the reservoir and the groundwater pressure below it.
When groundwater pressure is higher than the reservoir level, groundwater can move upward.
When Pineview is higher and pressure in the deeper aquifer is lower, particularly within the Ogden City well-field cone of depression, the hydraulic gradient can become downward.
That distinction is important.
UGS’s modeling indicated that thousands of acre-feet of Pineview Reservoir water may move toward the groundwater system, and the researchers identified two potential pathways into the deeper confined aquifer: leakage through the natural confining layer and leakage through old abandoned wells beneath the reservoir.
The study also detected tritium, an indicator of relatively modern water, in an Ogden City production well completed in the confined aquifer. That does not prove Pineview Reservoir was the source, and UGS was careful not to make that claim. But it does show that some relatively young water is reaching a groundwater system that also contains water with much longer residence times.
UGS ultimately concluded that leakage through the confining unit and/or abandoned well casings were plausible pathways that deserved consideration.
Which brings us back to this photograph.
If this is confirmed to be one of the historic Artesian Park wells, seeing it exposed and visibly flowing provides a remarkable glimpse into the groundwater system beneath Pineview.
Under the conditions shown in the photograph, groundwater pressure appears sufficient to push water upward through the old well to the exposed lakebed.
But groundwater gradients can change. When the reservoir is high and pumping lowers pressure in the deeper aquifer, the direction of movement can potentially reverse.
That makes these old wells more than an interesting piece of Ogden Valley history. It raises some worthwhile questions:
Where are the remaining historic wells? How were they abandoned? What condition are they in today? And could any still provide pathways between Pineview Reservoir, shallow groundwater and the deeper aquifer?
With Pineview drawn down so far, there may be a rare opportunity to document some of these historic features while they are exposed — information that could someday be useful to groundwater scientists and water managers as Ogden Valley continues to grow.
The larger lesson may be the most important one.
Pineview Reservoir, our streams, shallow groundwater and deeper aquifers are not separate water resources. They are connected parts of the same watershed.
Sometimes a low reservoir gives us an unusual opportunity to see that connection for ourselves.
Photo provided by Pete Gompert. Thank you to the photographer for documenting and sharing this unusual view.
Source: Utah Geological Survey, Characterization of the Groundwater System in Ogden Valley, Weber County, Utah, with Emphasis on Groundwater–Surface-Water Interaction and the Groundwater Budget*, Special Study 165, 2019. See especially pp. 6–7, 23–25, 30–35 and 68–72.