Mirror Pond is an impoundment of the

Deschutes River Deschutes River may refer to: *Deschutes River (Oregon) The Deschutes River in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many ...

in Bend, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. It is between Pacific Power's Bend Hydro dam and the Colorado dam, between RM 166 and 167. The pond is flanked by

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

, Harmon, Pageant, Brooks, Columbia, Miller's Landing, and McKay parks, as well as a number of buildings such as Pine Tavern and private homes. Some people mistakenly consider the Galveston (Tumalo) bridge the upper boundary of Mirror Pond; others call the portion of the lake between Galveston bridge and the Colorado dam "upper Mirror Pond".

History

Mirror Pond was created in 1910 by the construction of the Bend Water, Light & Power Company dam which provided the city with its initial source of electricity. The dam has been owned by Pacific Power since 1926 and produces electricity for approximately 200 Bend households.

Siltation

Since the construction of the dam, the flow of the Deschutes River deposits sediment from the approximately Upper Deschutes River watershed into Mirror Pond. As a result, sediment has settled behind the dam, creating shallow mudflats along the margins. Mirror Pond is the only impoundment of the upper Deschutes River for electricity. In 1984, the community supported a $312,000 dredging project (equivalent to $ today) to repair the Pond's features, but the result was not lasting. The work included removal of some of material to achieve a minimum depth of . The sedimentation in Mirror Pond has again become a concern for the Bend community because the mudflats interfere with the flow of the river, recreational uses, and have altered the aesthetics of Mirror Pond in relation to Drake Park and downtown Bend tourism and commerce.

There is also an impoundment downstream created by the North Canal Dam which is a diversion for Pilot Butte Canal, now part of the

Central Oregon Irrigation District Central Oregon Irrigation District is a municipal corporation to provide irrigation water for Central Oregon, U.S. The canals serve agricultural and industrial users in the arid lands between Alfalfa, Bend, Redmond, Terrebonne, and Powell Butte ...

References

{{authority control Bend, Oregon Reservoirs in Oregon Lakes of Deschutes County, Oregon Buildings and structures in Deschutes County, Oregon 1910 establishments in Oregon

History

Siltation

Related

See also

References