AnonymousBy an edhat reader
For the first time I walked up to the top of Escondio Park to check out the view.
I noticed a gated off area with what looks like a large empty reservoir. Google Maps shows it as a large pool of water. Does anyone know what this is for?
Long story short: Gravity. Water runs downhill.
Hilltop water storage provides volume in case of a high usage event like a fire. Large volume and good pressure with minimal pumping needed. So when you need water to fight a fire at your home, the volume in the 6″ water main running downhill from the reservoir that goes into the hydrant can feed the 4″ line the firefighters hook up to their pumper.
If your home is uphill or level with the reservoir, the reservoir pump system will run. Pumps now are variable speed that respond to sensors, they drive the demand at the appropriate pressure. ie the fire uphill would use much of the HP the pump has available, but for a downhill fire (by far the bulk of the area) the pump would use less of its HP, saving electricty
Cities with hills typically build reservoirs at top of hills, and ridges because altitude equals water pressure. When you drive around the USA, you see water towers in flat cities for the same reason.
There is another hilltop water storage area on your map located in the center of Skyline Circle and if you look to the West you can see a storage facility on Campanil Hill. The City of SB has water stored in underground tanks at the old Sheffield Reservoir and also has a very large facilities above foothill road going west, as does Goleta and Carpinteria. It think Shephards Mesa in Carpinteria is the only place on the south coast that has a water tower that is dedicated to its area
Have not seen it after the rains, but before the it looked empty and clean. Wish I could skate that!
Friends and I played basketball at the park as a kid and could see what looked like a domed silver colored roof from the court but never knew what it covered. There is an old narrow road (seen in the map) that opens at Calle Canon. The opposite end of the road is much higher up the hill and is a dead end. We built carts and got good momentum going down the road to “challenge” a tight hair pin turn half way down. Don’t make the turn and it’s over the side and down about 40′ on a slope. After a couple times over the side the carts were messed up too much and it was quite a hassle to get them back up to the road. This ended our cart riding days. What’s left of our carts might still be below the hairpin turn. Looking back this was probably good as we never met a car coming up the hill as we were flying down.
How interesting. It looks like it could be a detention basin. Basically a pool designed to catch stormwater, then slowly release it over time as to not overflow the downstream system. But, the drainage area isn’t very large, so I could be wrong. It is definitely on Escondido Park property according to the City of SB GIS map.
Second reservoir at corner of Fellowship Lane and Kenwood. I don’t think Skyline Circle has one…the center is someone’s home.
Square is so passe, if they were cool they’d make it a hexagon.
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.4339683,-119.8464132,18z?hl=en
It used to be kept filled with water as a fire protection reservoir for the Alta Mesa neighborhood. Then some years back it was inexplicably drained and became an “attractive nuisance” for skaters to try to break in and use. I and other neighbors have inquired why it is not kept full and the Government declines to justify its action.