Meadowbrook:
Bank Stabilization and Habitat Restoration Project
Left Bank, Snoqualmie River, River Mile 42

The Meadowbrook project was an ambitious effort to develop new techniques in the construction of engineered log jams and bio-engineered bank stabilization. The project was designed to provide habitat for a variety of species while protecting the residents of the City of Snoqualmie from floods, and part of an overall strategy to reduce flood hazards in the area upstream of Snoqualmie Falls. The project was built in 2000 by King County with funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

An amphibious pile driver and barge mounted excavator were used to construct over 500 linear feet of engineered log jam, with 300 pieces of large woody debris (LWD). These jams slow the water, helping reduce erosion problems at the toe of the river bank. Flows are forced toward the middle of the river channel, where scour will not cause structural problems.

Live geogrids were built on the floorboards using coir fabric to stabilize soil until native plants can root and grow.

Eroded river bank was rebuilt using the engineered log jam as a foundation. Piling were using as floorboards, which cover part of the channel as a hidden protected habitat.

For questions about projects along the Snoqualmie, Tolt and Raging Rivers, please contact Tom Bean, Senior Engineer, River and Floodplain Management Section.