The Ogden valley is one of Utah’s most sought-after places for families, retirees, and visitors to live and play. Its desirability has resulted in significant growth over the last several years with more future growth expected. The impact of this potential growth is of significant concern to service providers throughout the valley. Of specific interest to this study is the potential impact of growth on water resources and infrastructure. 

One of the challenges associated with planning for water needs in the valley is the number of independent water providers. According to recent calculations, an estimated 83 individual water companies provide water services in some form to residents and businesses in the Ogden Valley. Each of these service companies are limited by the production of their individual water sources. Due to the large number of service providers and the growing number of stakeholders in the Valley, Weber Basin Water Conservancy District identified a need for a regional study to better understand the service areas, capacities, facilities, and future needs of service providers in the Ogden Valley.

The purpose of this study is to accomplish the following major tasks:

• Understand and document existing water resources and infrastructure. This will include collection information on historic demands, available supply, and existing facilities for major water providers in the Valley.
• Project future water demand and supply. Using information on potential growth provided by Weber County planning personnel, this study will consider projected demands and how available resources might be used to meet these demands. Where existing resources fall short of demands, the study will consider the additional resources necessary to satisfy projected needs. A variety of different development scenarios will be considered to define the range of potential needs in the Valley.
• Identify alternative solutions to meet project water needs. Several studies have been completed in the area looking at overall water resources. While these studies have been useful in understanding the challenges in the valley, few solutions to those challenges have been offered. The goal of this project will be to identify specific solutions that can be implemented to address water needs.
• Develop a strategy for implementing recommended solution. While Weber Basin Water Conservancy District may be able to provide some wholesale water resources to support Valley needs, neither they nor Weber County are interested in becoming retail water providers in the Valley. As a result, a strategy will be needed to identify how to finance and build the required improvements.

This project website has been created to provide up-to-date information on the project and is intended to collect comments and answer questions. Included on the website will be all interim work products for review and comment.

Public Comments

Due to the various comments and question from the public, Weber Basin Water Conservancy District and their consultant on the Ogden Valley Water study, Bowen Collins & Associates, want to clarify a couple of things that were presented to Ogden Valley (Valley) residents on July 27th at Valley Elementary.

1. It is Weber Basin’s position that there is water available for development in the Valley, and that the County should carefully consider how and where new development takes place.

2. Concerning the availability and development of groundwater, the 2019 Ogden Valley Groundwater study, produced and presented by Utah Geological Survey, indicates that there is available groundwater in the valley, especially in the valley fill areas and conditionally in the foothills and higher elevations. Any drilling of new groundwater wells is under the purview of the Division of Water Rights and subject to their approval, prior to a well being drilled and equipped.

3. Weber Basin’s study indicates that due to the volume of water needed for the estimated buildout of the valley, additional large groundwater wells is not the preferrable method to meet those demands, due to the likelihood of interference with existing wells of other senior water right holders (ie. Ogden City, etc).

4. The purpose of this study is to present the future water development options available as the Valley continues to develop in the future. One of those options includes the installation of new infrastructure and the need for treatment of surface water sources.

To get a much better feel for the study we would strongly recommend viewing the entire written study and not just the presentation slides. The written study is listed on the column to the right of this page titled 2022 Draft Report.

Project Documents