The Full Story
Hydro Excavation
Hydro-Excavation is a non-destructive form of excavation used to remove soil in sensitive environments. The process uses pressurized water delivered through a wand to cut through soil. The use of water creates a dirt slurry that can easily be sucked into the truck’s debris tank using the high suction vacuum tube attached to the hydrovac truck. Once the work is complete, the slurry is brought to a soil recycling facility where the soil is separated from the water and can then be reused for various purposes away from the excavation site.
The growing popularity of hydro excavation began largely in Canada, where cold weather and frozen soil often created unworkable conditions and shut down job sites for extended periods of time. The ability to use hot water in a hydro excavation truck to aid the thawing process revolutionized the oil & gas industry, as well as the construction and other Canadian industries.
Applications
The hydro-excavation application offers many benefits compared to traditional excavation, including the following:
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Accessibility – the less invasive fleet can operate in areas that standard excavators cannot, including around conduits and utilities. Hydro excavation trucks can be driven on roads, allowing them to easily arrive at and depart sites without needing to be stored or loaded/offloaded. The vacuum tube can be extended off the truck allowing excavation to be done many metres away from the equipment and in tight spaces where a traditional excavator could not fit.
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Precision – high-pressured water managed by trained operators allows for focused removal of soil with a minimal footprint and less clean up once the task is completed. Water pressure and temperature can be easily adjusted by the operator to create a custom fit for each project and individual task.
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Lower risk – personnel, utilities and infrastructure are all at lower risk of injury and damage compared to conventional excavation methods.
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Efficiency – high precision and lower risk allow operators to provide quick and efficient work without the common delays and disruptions associated with traditional mechanical excavators.
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Use in winter – hydro excavators equipped with a boiler system allows hot water to be used to heat up and soften hard or frozen soil. This allows production to continue through the winter months where mechanical excavators may have a hard time breaking through the soil.
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Cost savings – hydro-excavation minimizes project timelines, potential damages to existing utilities and environmental disruption allowing projects to be completed faster while reducing the associated expenses.
Safety
While the list above provides examples of amazing benefits, the advantage above all else is safety, which should always be top priority. Hydro excavation provides the ability to dig around utilities with minimal risk of damage to the infrastructure or harm to workers on site.
In 2016, hydro-excavation accounted for 0.2% of excavation accidents, compared to the 40% of accidents caused by excavation using backhoes and trenchers. In 2017, over 400,000 excavation accidents were reported in North America. These shocking statistics speak for themselves when it comes to safety, and only help to highlight why hydro-excavation is the preferred method of excavation for so many applications, mainly in the vicinity of underground utilities.
