If you'll dig out areas of your site, then you need to choose the best method of excavation. While using diggers and excavators is an option, there are times when using hydro excavation services is a better solution.

This kind of excavation uses pressurised water to break up and move earth. The system then uses an air or vacuum appliance to move the earth into a holding tank. When is this a good solution?

1. You Have to Move Fast

Digging out part of your site takes time. Even if you use mechanical excavators rather than doing the job manually, you have to clear the area and find somewhere for its soil to go.

Hydro excavation is a faster process. The water quickly turns earth into a mushy slurry that is easy to move. The air or vacuum system sucks up this slurry and puts it in a dedicated storage tank. You could clear a large area or dig deep much more quickly and efficiently.

2. You Have Damage Concerns

If the area you're excavating contains utility or service pipes and cables, then you need to take extra care when you dig. It doesn't matter whether you dig manually or mechanically; it's easy to damage this kind of infrastructure, especially if you aren't 100% sure where these pipes and cables actually lie.

If you damage key components, then you have to fix the problem. It may take time to get service personnel out to make good the damage you made; this could also cost you extra. Your job will be delayed while you wait for a repair.

Hydro excavation doesn't damage anything it comes into contact with. The water turns the earth into a semi-liquid that is then vacuumed out of the space. You won't be using anything with a cutting edge that could break a pipe or cut a cable.

3. You Have Safety Worries

If you have a complex excavation area, then you might have extra safety concerns for your workers. You may worry about someone using an excavator at the edge of a deep pit; you may not want your crew in a large hole with unstable sides.

Hydro excavation is much safer for your workers. You don't need to put anyone in a precarious or dangerous position. Nobody needs to touch the ground during the dig.

If you think that this could be a good way to excavate your site, talk to commercial hydro excavation specialists.