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TIL the cliff face at Miller's Point eroded a whole foot back in just two years from that new storm drain runoff.
Watched the survey markers from 2022 get exposed and fall off this month, which really shows how fast water can chew through sandstone when you change its path.
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blair_gibson784mo ago
Look at what happened at the Marina del Rey breakwater a few years back. They changed the flow from a channel and the concrete started dissolving like sugar. Shows you can't just move water without expecting it to eat the new path of least resistance. Sandstone is basically glued-together sand, so once you give runoff a new direct shot at it, the clock starts ticking fast. Makes you wonder about all the other old drains and culverts we've forgotten about that are doing the same thing right now.
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karenhenderson2mo ago
Used to think erosion was this slow, gradual thing where you'd maybe notice after a decade. Then my neighbor's backyard shed slid down a ravine after the county rerouted a drainage pipe, lost about four feet of his property in six months. Seen those survey markers too, and watching them just tumble off a cliff really drives home how sandstone is basically just compressed dirt with no patience for redirected water. Pretty unsettling realizing how many old concrete culverts are probably sitting there getting undermined right now without anyone checking.
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jennifer_west522mo ago
Get those old culverts checked before the next big storm hits. I've seen sandstone lose three feet in one season after a drainage pipe got redirected, and it always starts faster than anyone expects. If you own property near a bluff or cliff, walk the line after every heavy rain and look for fresh cracks or wet spots. Erosion like that sneaks up on you because the damage happens underground before the face falls off. Better to divert the water yourself with a proper channel than let nature find its own way through.
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