I noticed this concrete ramp thing while walking on East Beach. What is it? —W.
The folks at the city’s Parks & Recreation Department, which oversees East Beach, said it’s a flood control facility, and they directed me to the Santa Barbara County Flood Control District for further information.
“It’s an outlet structure for a storm drain system that collects storm water runoff from the east side,” was the initial response I got from County Flood Control. I pushed for more: how does it work? “An outlet structure is nothing more than the downstream end of the storm drain pipe, and in this case, since the pipe ends on the beach, there has to be a flap gate at its end that prevents the higher tides and the sand etc. from getting up into the pipe…. The flap gate shuts tight when the tide is higher than the water that’s in the pipe, and the flap gate opens to drain the pipe onto the beach when the water in the pipe is higher than the tide.”
Got a question? Email [email protected] or text 917-209-6473 and I’ll do my best to get an answer.
Previous Burning Questions:
••• Why Does “USA” Get Written on the Street?
••• What Are Those Poles in the Ocean Near the Ritz-Carlton Bacara?
••• Are People Really Allowed to Set Fires in the Middle of Montecito?
••• What’s the Story With the Half-Finished Lot Next to the Montecito Country Mart?
••• Is the Bridge Over San Ysidro Creek Ever Going to Get Repaired?
I’ve always wondered about these!