Phone: 705.436.4443
Great Ontario Hydrovac
  • HOME
  • HOW HYDRO EXCAVATION WORKS
  • OUR EQUIPMENT
  • CONTACT US

How Hydro Excavating Works

A stand alone vacuum truck equipped with a water reservoir and a debris tank literally sucks the earth, clay, stone, gravel and rock out of the ground to reveal the scene below.  The diagram here shows that process.  Since the method is non destructive and minimally evasive it is extremely safe and productive for many uses including:
  • Utility Locates
  • Daylighting
  • Coring
  • Pot-holing
  • Slot Trenching
  • Backfill Restoration
Picture

Hydro-excavation is the only non destructive, no digging excavation solution.

Picture
Definition of Hydro-Excavation

Hydro-Excavation is a process high pressure water is used to loosen soil, rocks, clay, gravel and other earth material while it is contiually "sucked up" into a debris tank for later disposal.

Advancements in Hydro-Excavation since its inception have made it the de facto standard for providing a non-destructive means to safely locate utilities and precisely excavate an area. The process is widely regarded and highly valued for being safe and effective.
Background and History of Hydro-Excavation

As early as 1960 catch basin cleaners were adapted for hydro-excavation but the technology was crude as are most new ideas in their infancy. 

Many advancements in the technology for Hydro-Excavation were adapted and refined from industrial scale projects in the Northern Canadian oil and gas sector.  Because of the cold climate and difficult working conditions  "daylighting" buried lines with high pressure hot water and removing the debris by suction was proving and indispensable tool in the field. 

In the decades of 70s and 80s, modified vacuum trucks and sewer cleaners were adapted for use as suction excavators by the 90s there was a commercial demand for hydro-excavation machines for industrial, municipal and commercial use, but it wasn't until the new millennium that hydro-excavation was widely used and demanded by top contractors across Canada and the United States. 

The increasing demand for non-destructive digging and necessary improvements in the field of worker safety are the driving forces behind the growth of the vacuum excavation sector.  

Economic Comparison of Hydro-Excavation (Suction Excavation, Vacuum Excavation, Cyclone Filtration) to Conventional Digging

The prevailing opinion is that in most cases a yard for yard excavating comparison between a Hydro-Excavator and a conventional bucket machine generally favors the conventional method on cost of dirt removal alone. However, it is important to note that the actual removing of the dirt is only a small part of the complete job.  

We already know the cost benefits that favour the Hydrovac method due to its reduced risk for possible damage to underground utilities, worker safety and liability issues, but many people are surprised to find that often the vacuum excavating method actually works out to be less cost than the conventional method.

Below are the factors to consider, when for example, attempting to uncover a utility suspected to be 2 metres underground.

Conventional Method

  • Machine digging not feasible due to unknown specific location of utility.
  • Hand Digging around utilities very time consuming.
  • Larger area is disrupted due to need for sloped sides of a holes as workers are inside the hole not above it.
  • More time required to restore the site to its original condition.

Hydro Excavation

  • Safe removal of earth by water, air and vacuum pressure.
  • Fast removal minimizing disruption to area.
  • Direct path to utility excavated and workers kept above ground.
  • Non destructive to landscape and less time to restore to original condition

Hydro-Excavation Info

Vactor Hydrovac Manufacturer
Wikipedia (Suction Excavation)
Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance

Local Construction and Contractor Associations

Ontario One Call Location Service
Barrie Construction Association
Toronto Construction Association
Ontario General Contractor Association
Infrastructure Health & Safety Association
Council of Ontario Construction Associations
Canadian Construction Association
Ontario Sewer & Watermain Construction Assoc.
Merit Ontario

Other Businesses We Recommend


What areas does Great Ontario Hydrovac serve?

From our base in Innisfil, Ontario, Canada we are able to provide hydro-excavation, utility daylighting, underground locates, slot excavation, cleaning of catch basins and other related services to the North in Barrie, Orillia, Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, Hunstville, Northbay, Sudbury, Midland, and Parry Sound.  

We work in the Georgian Triangle to Wasaga Beach, Collingwood, Meaford, Thornbury, Owen Sound, Aliston Orangeville, south to Guelph, Brampton, Toronto, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Aurora, and Newmarket.  We also are able to provide superior hydro-excavation to cottage country in Haliburton, Muskoka, Kawartha Lakes and Peterbourgh. 

In the GTA we work in Oshawa, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, Niagara, Milton, and Halton Hills.

If you inquiry is regarding hydrovac work outside of this region we may be able to assist. 

    Contact Great Ontario Hydrovac

Submit

 © 2013 Great Ontario Hydrovac - Expose, Reveal & Locate with Hydro-Excavation | 705.436.4443 | Innisfil, ON, Canada, Serving Barrie, GTA & beyond.