Sediment control systems may be structures, devices or some
combination of the two. Examples of sediment control structures are
sediment basins, sediment ponds and sediment traps. When designed
correctly, sediment containment structures provide storage volume sufficient to handle all incoming water and allow sedimentation.
However, it is not always feasible to retain all runoff waters from
a construction site, since large containment areas and volumes are required.
Also, evaporation and infiltration might not be sufficient to drain
the system before the next storm event occurs, which may cause flooding
problems. In these cases, sediment can be controlled by temporary
BMPs found on construction sites.