Basket/cage thing figured out!

My husband finally identified the basket/cage thing......he wrote in the comments, but most of you did not see it:

"I just figured out what your wire basket is. Because the wetlands are inside the levee if too much water accumulates there it has to be pumped up to the river. Your wire basket goes over the drain pipe to prevent logs, trees, trash and elephants from being sucked in and ruining the pump."