Restoration continues at Mirabeau

The Forum and Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club (SCKC) teamed up again to improve access at Mirabeau.

View the slide show to see how one back hoe, two trenches, several feet of drain pipe, nine yards of gravel and some intrepid volunteers’ addressed this water trail need. Said Andy Dunau, the Forum’s Executive Director, “Mirabeau is a heavily used location and erosion was creating “ankle breakers” for people using the trail. So we teamed up with SCKC to address the need.”

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Here’s the back story. In 2011-12, the Forum used an REI grant and teamed with SCKC and others to restore water trail access at Mirabeau. All went as planned except for continued erosion at the top end of the trail. The cause of erosion was poor engineering of the parking lot because runoff from the lot is directed at the top of the trail.

Everyone agreed that for fifteen to twenty thousand dollars, a swale, dry well and native plants would fix the problem nicely. Too bad that type of funding isn’t available. So our three digit fix was to dig a trench and install a drain pipe and gravel to “catch” the water as it comes off the parking lot. If it works as planned, the erosion won’t occur because water will now be directed to a hillside area off the water trail.