Pressurized water and an industrial vacuum — instead of a steel bucket. The cleanest, safest way to dig near anything you can't afford to break. Same J1S crew, same standards, brand-new capability.
Hydroexcavation (sometimes called "hydro vac" or "vacuum excavation") is a non-destructive method of digging that uses two things at once: high-pressure water to break up soil into a slurry, and an industrial vacuum to remove the slurry into a sealed debris tank on a truck.
The result is a precise, clean hole — exactly the size and depth you asked for — with no risk of damaging buried utilities, root systems, or anything else hidden underground. It's the safest way to dig in any environment where what you can't see matters.
"Where a backhoe is a hammer, a hydrovac is a scalpel."
Our hydrovac unit handles soil from frost-locked January to hardpan August — without sending a blade anywhere near a buried utility. Here's the process from arrival to hand-off.
Utilities are flagged via 811 (or equivalent), depths verified against records, and the dig zone is staked. Nothing happens until the layout is signed off.
2,000+ PSI of heated water breaks soil into slurry — fast through clay, gentle around utilities, no impact damage to anything buried.
An onboard 3,200 CFM blower pulls slurry through an 8" hose into a sealed 12-yard debris tank. The hole stays clean, the site stays dry.
Dig is photographed and measured, spoil hauled to a permitted disposal site, and you receive the documentation as part of the close-out package.
Mechanical excavation is faster and cheaper for bulk dirt work — that's why we still do plenty of it. But for these six specific scenarios, hydroexcavation is meaningfully safer, cleaner, or both.
Exposing buried gas, electric, water, fiber, or sewer lines so you can verify their condition or location before tying in or trenching nearby.
Small precision holes (12"–24") to confirm depth and location of underground assets before designing or installing crossings.
Narrow, clean trenches for fiber, conduit, or irrigation runs — at half the disturbance and a fraction of the restoration cost.
Heated water cuts winter clay and summer hardpan that would stall a mechanical bucket. Keeps your project on schedule year-round.
Working around mature trees without severing root systems. Critical for landscape preservation projects and arborist-supervised digs.
Pedestrian zones, occupied buildings, active industrial facilities, and sites where heavy equipment access is limited or unsafe.
Both methods have a place — and we run both. Use this as a quick guide for which makes sense on your project. When in doubt, ask us.
We chose this unit specifically because it can handle the regional soil types, the climate, and the kind of jobs we get called for most often. Here's what's under the hood.
These are the questions we hear from contractors, builders, and municipalities trying to figure out whether hydroexcavation is the right call for their project.
Per cubic yard, hydro is more expensive — usually 2–4x mechanical, depending on the site. But that comparison misses the point. Hydro pays for itself the moment it prevents a single utility strike (which can run $20K–$200K in repair plus regulatory fines). On the right job, it's the cheaper option by a wide margin.
Most native soils — clay, loam, sand, silt, and most gravelly soils. Heated water lets us cut frozen ground and hardpan that would stall a mechanical bucket. We can usually work through small cobble. For solid rock or bedrock, mechanical or pneumatic methods are still the right call.
Practically, our setup can reach about 30 feet on most sites. Beyond that, the vacuum efficiency drops and the economics shift. For typical utility-locate, potholing, and slot-trench work — usually 4 to 12 feet — we're well within the sweet spot.
No. Our truck carries 1,500 gallons of water on board, runs off its own diesel, and is fully self-contained. We can refill from a fire hydrant (with permit) or a static source if a long-duration job needs it. Otherwise, we're plug-and-play.
It goes into our sealed 12-yard debris tank and gets hauled to a permitted disposal site. Disposal is included in our quote. We'll provide manifests for your records if your project requires them (LEED projects, government work, etc.).
Same as any excavation work — depends on jurisdiction and scope. Tap-ins and right-of-way work usually need permits regardless of method. We handle permit acquisition for our part of the work as part of the project, or coordinate with your GC's permit pull.
For scheduled work: typically 5–10 business days from quote acceptance. For emergencies (utility strikes, water main breaks, line locates needed before a permit pull), call our emergency hydrovac line direct: (636) 465-4226. We can usually be on site within 24 hours.
Based in Festus — we run hydrovac jobs throughout Jefferson County and the St. Louis metro. Short lead times, fast mobilization.
Send us the address, the scope, and what you're trying to expose, install, or avoid. We'll quote it and get on the schedule.