The gate and pan are designed to be self-clearing both before and during a flood. Debris is blocked from entering the pan prior to a flood, and the gate and tension members are designed to withstand impact from large objects floating in the floodwater. Drains act to keep the pan clear during normal conditions and to remove the floodwater quickly once a flood has begun to subside. We always recommend checking and clearing the gate after a flood has receded. In over a decade of field deployments, debris has never caused damage or malfunction of our systems.