Surface Water Control (continued)

Cyclists of all sorts hate wooden waterbars because of the hazard they present to wheeled traffic. The exposed angled surface can be very slippery, leading to crashes when the wheel slides side-ways down the face of the bar. The rider continues down the trail without the cycle. As the grade increases, the angle of the bar (and often the face height) is increased to prevent sedimentation. This raises the crash–and–burn factor.

Are waterbars ever useful? Sure. Wood or rock waterbars are useful on foot and stock trails where a tripping hazard is acceptable, especially at grades less than 5 percent. Also consider reinforced waterbars where you don't have much soil to work with and in areas that experience occasional torrential downpours (Figure 20).

Figure 20—Reinforced or armored waterbars.

 E-mail: wo_mtdc_webmaster@fs.fed.us