California Surveyors Forums

What does this mean ? CESS ?

PipeSetter wrote:What does this mean ? CESS ?

I've never been a fan of using acronyms which become jargon.

I've seen CES used in other cities for City Engineer's Shiner which makes no sense until you know what the City crews commonly use in their notes.

This is a common one and yet I never could figure out what it meant. I believe those are cut crosses on tops of curbs at centerline of a storm water inlet/drop inlet.

"cess" I think I see all in lower case, so it may be an abbreviation rather an an acronym.

the cess is the low area either side of the track
cess (plural cesses)

1.(rail transport) The area along either side of a railroad track which is kept at a lower level than the sleeper bottom, in order to provide drainage.

I am pretty sure it relates to the cuts on the curbs at the catch basins, and when I look up the term "catch basin" I see old terminology referring to them as "cess pits".

btaylor wrote:I am pretty sure it relates to the cuts on the curbs at the catch basins, and when I look up the term "catch basin" I see old terminology referring to them as "cess pits".

They were Cess Pits when Horse Drawn vehicles were the norm. And still were in some areas until cities began making horse drawn carriages put a manure catcher behind the horses as part of the rig.

The + cut is a chiseled cross that is not joined in the middle. It is typically about 4" across and the chiseled lines are almost as thick as your little finger. The unchiseled portion of the cut holds the elevation on SF City Datum. BTaylor is correct in that the mark is located above catch basins. Note that some agency has epoxied plastic panels concerning the dumping of oil into the CB over many of these benchmarks. Also worth noting is that many of these locations have been modified to accommodate wheelchair ramps so the benchmark may be destroyed entirely. As these BMs were last set in the early 1980s, any new ramps near a CB indicates a destroyed BM.

As I was informed by an old SF City Engineer, those cess pits (CB's) sometimes held treasures, seriously. He said it was common to see the public open up a CB and dig the sludge out, looking for gold coins. I see a new Discovery Channel reality show in the works, lol.