Also known as “daylighting”, is the non-destructive process of using pressurized streams of water or air to break up ground and excavate while simultaneously using a high air flow vacuum which sucks up the soil, debris, dirt, rock, etc. – thereby allowing a visual observation of the buried underground utilities or infrastructure.

The process is safer, faster, non-destructive and “more telling” than any other method of excavation or locating also eliminating potential damage to the buried utility, underground infrastructure or facility.
The process of Hydro Excavation, the only non-destructive method of digging, utilizes pressurized water and a vacuum system to quickly and safely expose underground infrastructure. During the hydrovac process, pressurized water is injected into the ground through a handheld wand. As the soil cover is liquefied, the resulting slurry is simultaneously extracted by a powerful vacuum and stored in a 14 yard debris tank onboard the hydrovac. Hydrovacs can dig beneath the soil with all the complex maze of facilities carry petroleum products, electricity, water, wastewater, natural gas, and telecommunications. Every single day incidents occur across the country that leave utilities damaged, property destroyed, and sometimes, workers injured or worse. The added cost of using a hydrovac on a project can be negated by the increased productivity achieved on the job. By clearing a path through utility conflicts, a hydrovac can help contractors put more pipe in the ground per day, install more poles per day, or complete more service repairs in a day.
Hydrovacs add value to projects by helping contractors get more out of their existing resources. The beauty of the hydrovac solution is that all of this can be done without the risk of causing damage to existing infrastructure.