Weber commissioners considering curfew at Pineview Reservoir


Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

HUNTSVILLE, Weber County — Problem boaters are bringing noise, trash and safety concerns to Pineview Reservoir, according to law enforcement.

Weber County commissioners are considering a boating curfew, but some say the proposal is unfair.

“This is a problem that’s existed for quite a few years. It’s not brand new,” Weber County Sheriff Terry Thompson said Tuesday. “This problem has just continued to get gradually worse to where we just have to do something with it.”

Robert Fuller, of Eden, said he supports an overnight curfew at Pineview Reservoir to stop the loud, drunken boaters who leave lots of trash.

“Who thinks it’s acceptable and appropriate to have right in your backyard extremely loud, vulgar music at 2 or 3 in the morning? Our light fixtures in the home vibrate because of the music,” Fuller said. “If it’s truly too dangerous to go police that, then the appropriate approach would be to shut it down.”

Several boaters at a County Commission meeting Tuesday said they shouldn't be punished for what other people are doing.

Boater Jeff Carter said he has camped on the water and has done so respectfully.

“I can have my boat in the water and be on it in 20 minutes,” he said. “That’s the beauty of Pineview Dam. Take that away and I lose that.”

"I think there's only a few people out there that are actually causing the problem,” boater Brad Rainford added. “There's hundreds of people that are on the lake just like myself, with our families, that want to go up there. If it happens, everybody's going to pull out."

Related

Huntsville Mayor Jim Truett said he’s experienced the trash and noise at Pineview over the years.

“I feel bad for Weber County deputies because they are outgunned,” Truett said.

That’s one of the reasons behind a proposed ordinance that would put a boating curfew on the reservoir between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. There would be an exception for people who are on the reservoir and sleeping during those hours.

“If deputies needed to go hands on with a violator while on the water at night (and) outnumbered, the risk of going overboard increases tremendously for the deputy and individual involved,” Weber County Lt. Brandon Toll said. "This would create yet a more dangerous and possible tragic situation, where a drowning may occur."

Deputies and the Weber County sheriff told commissioners that officers sometimes have no choice but to walk away.

“Often there’s drugs and alcohol and underage (drinking), and all these kinds of things going on out there we need to deal with, and it can become very dangerous,” Thompson said.

The County Commission on Tuesday decided it needed more time to explore the issue. Solutions include a shorter curfew to allow more fishing, or levying higher fines against violators.

Contributing: Viviane Vo-Duc

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Mike Anderson

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast