Tide, Wave Gauge Installed at Pier

Visitors to the Ventura Pier can now check the height of tides and waves using a colorful gauge unveiled Wednesday.

Using a 30-foot pipe descending to the water below the pier and a pulley mechanism of bicycle chains and sprockets, the gadget registers wave height and motion, tide height and indicates whether the tide is rising or falling.

The device was donated by Pier into the Future, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and maintaining Ventura’s pier. Staff from the United Water Conservation District staff designed and built the gauge, which will be replaced by a permanent instrument when an extension to the pier is completed.