Middle Fork Irrigation District

Middle Fork Irrigation District

Middle Fork Irrigation District boundaries are the Middle Fork of the Hood River on the west and the East Fork of the Hood
River on the east and north. On the south the watershed for the District extends onto the northern slopes of Mt. Hood and
includes Eliot, Langille and Coe Glaciers. The small town of Parkdale, is located near the center of MFID irrigated lands.
Locally the area is described as being in the Upper Hood River Valley.

Hydroelectric power is generated at three locations year around as an integral part of the Middle Fork
Irrigation District water distribution system. Within each powerhouse are water turbine generators, control
panels and the required hydraulic control and station service equipment. The three powerhouses, allowing
for differences in turbine configuration and site requirements, are similar in design and construction. Pelton
water turbines are used in powerhouses one and three, where water is returned to the stream at
atmospheric pressure. The Francis turbine in powerhouse two is a totally enclosed pipeline system, where
the operating head is determined by downstream conditions. Financing for the hydroelectric project totaled
7.5 million dollars.

Clear Branch Dam
Laurance Lake Reservoir
The dam is an earth and rock zone fill
approximately 1350 feet long with a top width
of 28 feet. Height of the dam is 106 feet and
water depth at the spillway crest elevation is
100 feet. Construction was under the
authority of the Watershed Protection and
Flood Prevention Act (Public Law 566).
When full the spillway elevation is
2978 feet msl. The surface of
Laurance lake is approximately 130
acres.
Minimum flow regimes below Clear Branch Dam are:
3 cfs for the period starting July 10 and extending through October 7 of each year.
50% of calculated reservoir inflow up to 20 cfs from October 8 through July 10.
These flows can be reduced at the discretion of the fishery management agencies if t would be in the
interest of fisheries resources to do so in so far as such reduction does not interfere with the primary
function of the reservoir.

Old Coe Diversion
The Coe Branch Diversion is located
approximately 0.8 miles upstream of the
confluence with Middle Fork of Hood River,
being within the SE ¼ NE ¼ Section 27 T 1
S. R 9 E. Original construction was
completed in December 1987. The Coe
Creek Diversion was upgraded in the fall of
2009. The dam and drop inlet grate
structure was removed and replaced with a
25 ft long angled concrete water entry wall,
fish bypass channel and drop pools. An
agency approved 50 foot FCA horizontal flat
plate dual stage screen was installed. This
resulted in the addition of 3 miles of
upstream habitat for fish and met water
quality standard objectives and restoration
priorities in the Hood River Basin.
New Coe Creek Diversion

Old Eliot Diversion
Construction on the Eliot Branch Diversion was started September 13,
1965 and was completed December 10, 1965. Due to glacial
outbursts/debris torrent events the facilities have been
replaced/repaired four times. The Eliot Diversion is located on Eliot
Branch (Creek) approximately 1 mile upstream from the Middle Fork
Hood River, five miles southwest of Parkdale, OR in SW 1/4 NE 1/4
Section 26, Township 1 South, Range 9 East of the Willamette
Meridian.

In November 2006, a debris flow completely destroyed the Eliot diversion and
the Eliot branch moved approx 1,000 feet to the East..

The Diversion facilities were rebuilt with a
side channel inlet and criteria fish screen
in the spring of 2007. From the diversion
facilities water enters the Eliot ditch. The
ditch provides conveyance of water from
the point of diversion to the sediment
basin. At the Sediment Basin waters from
Clear Branch Dam, Coe Creek diversion
and Eliot Diversion can be mixed and
distributed into the system
New Eliot Creek Diversion

Penstock Damage

Coe Damage