Brownsville Texas roadside question

[kevin993]

Random question for Pelicans who are familiar with areas around Brownsville, Texas - we visited and saw many of these vertical pipes along the roads. What are they? What do they do?

[Mark Howard]

I recall from being down there a few years ago it’s some part of their irrigation system for crops. They have some sort of irrigation districts that are controlled by a board that manages the water quantities and when irrigation is allowed based on weather conditions and rainfall. I suspect it may be some sort of maintenance access?

[smadsen]

I believe it's a form of vent pipe to assist water in flowing in a pipe underground. Think like the vent pipe on the roof of your house to vent the sewer pipe to aid water flow (sewage) down hill in a closed pipe. The vent is up high so water will almost never back up and come out, but air can always get in behind the flow. You can move more cu.ft./sec. if suction created on a downhill run is vented every so often. But know, you don't vent when you pump uphill under pressure.

Think of it like a diffuser on the back of a race car. Cars go faster when the vacuum they leave in their wake is mitigated.

[Nostril Cheese]

[Zeke]

Stand pipes. A pump is used to fill the pipe and gravity pushes the water to the desired field of irrigation.

[stevej37]

Chupacabra refuge pipe.

[ckcarr]

Morlocks