Hydro excavation uses a powerful, pressurized water jet to loosen soil while an air vacuum sucks up the debris into a mobile tank. The process causes less disturbance and is safer for workers, reducing repair costs and insurance rates.
Hydro excavation is also perfect for “daylighting” or exposing underground utility lines. By using this soft dig method, you avoid damaging pipes that can lead to expensive and time-consuming repairs.
Safer
For millennia, digging holes and trenches required manual labor. While engine-driven machinery replaced much of this challenging work, it came with its risks to workers. Sharp diggers and equipment could accidentally hit buried pipes and lines, leading to expensive repairs and even a service disruption.
A hydro excavation vacuum truck can safely remove dirt and debris without causing damage to underground utilities or structures nearby. It also causes minimal disruption, allowing a smaller crew to do what would take days with traditional digging methods. This reduces repair and restoration costs, making excavation projects more cost-effective. Moreover, it reduces the risk of injury to your workforce by eliminating exposure to harsh and cold conditions. It’s perfect for piling projects, “daylighting” (uncovering utility locations), and more.
More Precise
Traditional excavation methods like backhoes and manual digging are less accurate for removing soil, which leads to more damage to the surrounding area and often results in more backfilling needing to be done after the project is finished.
It also helps to prevent service interruptions from accidental strikes on pipes and sewer lines, which can be very expensive to repair. With a hydro-vac truck, you can dig into the soil with pressurized water and then vacuum it away without damaging any underground structures, making this excavation method ideal for projects like daylighting and potholing. You’ll also save on labor costs and equipment rental since the job can be completed much faster.
Less Debris
When a traditional excavator hits buried pipes, it can cause massive damage and lead to service interruptions that are time-consuming to fix. However, a hydrovac truck is designed to avoid these issues altogether by putting less pressure on the soil during digging.
The water jet is directed to cut into the dirt. It sucks it up through flexible hoses attached to the vehicle’s boom, which can be positioned at a safe distance from underground utilities and fixtures like water lines, cable lines, or sewage pipes. This ensures minimum or no damage to these buried pipes and infrastructure.
This also helps reduce the risk of damage during potholing or daylighting, which is uncovering underground pipes for maintenance or repair.
Less Waste
Hydro vac trucks use pressurized water and an air conveyance (or vacuum) to break up soil and transfer it into a debris tank for disposal. As a result, it only takes one truck instead of several to dig a hole or trench. This reduces fuel costs and limits the number of machines onsite, improving productivity.
Additionally, it makes for safer digging because crews don’t need to worry about hitting buried pipes or sewer lines. Hitting a utility line can cause significant issues, including customer outages and lengthy repair times. It also means expensive insurance and liability expenses for contractors. This is why it’s essential to call 811 before starting any digging project. Using hydro excavation equipment eliminates the chance of damaging existing lines during daylighting.
Easier Access
While traditional excavation involves digging with backhoes or by hand, hydro vac equipment can be used in confined areas where other large vehicles and machinery are not allowed. Using a water lance and vacuum hose directly at the dig site, hydrovac can be more precise than other methods while remaining non-destructive.
When it comes to “daylighting” (exposing buried utilities for maintenance and repair) or other projects that require precise digging in tight spaces, hydro vac makes the job easier by making the process safer. It also requires less truck and vehicle traffic, which can save fuel costs and prevent congestion on roads and other areas where the work needs to be done.
Another advantage of hydrovac is that the dirt slurry is pulled straight into a debris tank for easy disposal. This allows the crew to move on to a new area faster without leaving the site to dump dirty soil and wait for clean dirt to return.