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English: NRCS Oregon, Middle Fork Irrigation District (MFID) and project partners are working to modernize and rehab Clear Branch Dam.

In 1969, the USDA’s Soil Conservation Service (now known as the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)) constructed Clear Branch Dam to address gaps in water delivery for users downstream.

Located on the northeastern side of Mt. Hood about five miles from Parkdale, Ore. on the U.S. Forest Service’s Mt. Hood National Forest, the construction of Clear Branch Dam created Laurance Lake. When full, Laurance Lake has 130 surface acres and 3,500 acre-feet of storage capacity.

The dam’s primary purpose is to provide irrigation water for agriculture. By helping provide storage in the reservoir, Clear Branch Dam allows clear and clean irrigation water to be available more consistently throughout the year.

After construction, the NRCS turned Clear Branch Dam over to the project sponsor, the Middle Fork Irrigation District (MFID), who has since owned and operated dam and managed irrigation water delivery.

Today, MFID manages and provides irrigation water to over 400 users across roughly 6,300 acres in the Upper Hood River Valley.

Many dams constructed by NRCS were designed for a 50-year service life. NRCS’s Watershed Rehabilitation Program helps project sponsors like MFID rehabilitate aging dams that are reaching the end of their service lives.

Clear Branch Dam's rehabilitation work is ongoing. The work addresses critical public health and safety concerns and ensures the dam is retrofitted to meet current dam safety standards and regulations.

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