Discussion of “Evaluation of Data-Driven and Empirical Models for the Estimation of Sediment Removal Efficiency in Settling Basins”

The discussers thank the authors for their comprehensive work and valuable contributions to sediment removal modeling in hydraulic engineering.In the spirit of constructive scientific discourse, the discussers respectfully highlight several points in the original paper that warrant further consideration and clarification.These observations are intended to enhance the clarity, robustness, and reproducibility of the presented modeling framework, and to encourage deeper reflection on the methodological choices made.The study could offer even stronger insights and practical applicability in sediment transport modeling by addressing these aspects ranging from data representativeness and model generalizability to feature selection and benchmark comparisons.