Most of the sediment (typically sand or grit) is trapped in the Snowmelter melting tank. If the sediment is light or fine enough to stay in suspension in the water, then this sediment can leave with the water. In this case a discharge pond might be necessary – again depending on the concentration or an intercept. For a pit type Snowmelter, the melting pit can be quite large, allowing for a lot of sediment to accumulate – thereby decreasing the frequency of cleanout. Portable Snowmelters by virtue of being portable have a smaller (relative) melting tank, so depending on the ingress of sediment (debris), may need to be cleaned out every shift or once a day. Again, it really depends on the amount of debris in the snow entering the melting tank/pit.