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What is hydro excavation?
Hydro excavation is a special method of removing or moving soil with pressurized water and after that vacuum is used to transfer the soil and debris to a debris tank. Hydro excavation provides a more accurate way to excavate soil and locate underground utilities.
In cold or warm weather, it is very much suitable to excavate as compared to other excavation methods but in cold conditions, warm water is used in frozen ground. It minimizes the risk of causing damage to any underground services and it is fast and efficient. Sometimes it is referred to as hydro-vac excavation.
Hydrovac excavation eliminates the use of sharp or heavy metal edge equipment so that it is hazardous free or accident-free as compared to the traditional excavation process. In hydro excavation, the elements are used for digging are water and vacuum and they minimize the risk of causing damage to any underground utilities like cable, gas pipelines, etc.
It is also cost-effective because it requires less labor. The traditional method for excavating does not always work and it is widely used in the oil and gas industry.
It is an extremely efficient tool for construction projects, drilling, excavation, and locating utilities and lastly, it does not require large or excess spaces to complete the work, and also it requires less time to complete the project. Hydro excavation is a safe, cost-effective, and non-destructive digging method used for locating underground services.
How hydro excavation works:
Hydro excavation works by injecting pressurized water into the ground, once you soften and break up the ground, a large vacuum sucks up the sludge into a debris tank on a hydro excavation truck. The process can be used to dig up to 70feet deep and this excavation process is used almost in any soil type, even in frozen ground.
Hydro excavation equipment typically comes in the form of specially designed trucks or trailers. In some advanced models, a boiler is used it heat the water prior to pressurization so that the hydro-vac is used in conditions where the ground is frozen.
Once the excavation work has been done then the hydro-vac truck or trailer needs to be driven at a designated dumping location where the slurry mixture that was collected can be offloaded, and the debris tank can be cleaned and ready for subsequent use.
Benefits of hydro excavation:
- No digging permit required as it utilizes a non-mechanical ground entry.
- Can be deployed in hours.
- Reduces damaged risks to underground assets such as cables, gas pipelines, and other site services.
- Reduces cave-ins fatalities as compared to the traditional method of excavation.
- Faster completion on your excavation project.
- Hydro excavation works for all soil types.
- No need to used additional equipment because only water, vacuum, and sucker truck are required.
- It is cost-effective as compared to the traditional digging method or excavation.
- Hydro excavation is a safer method to use for soil removal resulting in fewer injuries to workers.
- It is also used in frozen soil in the winter season.
Applications of hydro excavation:
- Soil trenching
- Debris removal
- Potholing
- Excavate in tight spaces
- Cold weather excavation
- Pole setting
- Remote Excavation
- Daylighting etc.
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