Street Sweeping: Why So Thorough? [incl link to Cecil's SD-Chi column]

I’ve seen a street sweeper emptying its contents directly into the sewer. He was a fire hydrant, using the hose to clean out the big trough at the front.

Apropos of nothing, I’ve also seen a street sweeper recently try to open and close the big trough in front, have it get jammed and then need to call in another sweeper to finish the route.