Hydrovac trucks and experienced operators for potholing, service proving, trenching and excavation beside live assets across metropolitan Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan and the Redlands.
Hydro excavation cuts the ground with pressurised water and lifts the slurry into a truck-mounted tank by vacuum. It is a form of non-destructive digging: no bucket touches the asset, which is why it is the method most asset owners in Brisbane will accept beside a live water main, gas line, electrical cable or fibre route.
Dynamic runs hydrovac units from its Yeronga base for civil contractors, utilities, councils and builders across the metropolitan area. Most bookings are potholing and service proving ahead of design or construction, but the same trucks cut precision trenches, open pits and clear material from around existing structures.
Inner Brisbane has water, sewer, gas, power and communications assets laid over many decades, often in the same road reserve. Before You Dig Australia plans show roughly where an asset should be. They do not confirm its depth, whether it has been relocated, or whether an unrecorded service shares the trench.
A hydro excavated pothole answers those questions with the asset in view. Surveyed before design is finalised, it lets an engineer route a new service or set a pile position around what is actually there, rather than around a line on a plan.
Ground changes quickly across Brisbane. Reactive clays are common, older suburbs carry layers of fill and past reinstatement, and some sites reach weathered rock at shallow depth. Water cuts compacted and cohesive ground more effectively than air, which is one reason hydro excavation remains the default for service exposure on most Brisbane sites.
Units carry cold and hot water capability for different ground, and the realistic rate of progress on a site is confirmed when the job is scoped rather than promised up front. If rock or heavily cemented material is expected, say so at enquiry so the right equipment is allocated.
Much of the metropolitan work sits in trafficked road reserves, beside rail corridors or on sites with very little standing room. There the excavation is rarely the constraint. Truck position, traffic management, permits and the length of the access window usually decide how the shift runs.
Long suction hoses let a unit stand on the street or a hardstand and work in at a distance, which suits kerbside pits, footpaths and offset positions behind barriers. Traffic control, approved hours and any after-hours requirement are worked through before the crew mobilises.
Brisbane work ranges from one pothole to prove a crossing through to multi-site potholing programmes that confirm asset positions ahead of a utility upgrade. Larger jobs can be backed by 10x4 vacuum trucks and hydro tankers where the spoil volume would otherwise send a smaller unit off to tip several times a shift.
On a programme, the locate and the pothole are best sequenced together. LADS, part of the Dynamic Group, marks the services and the hydrovac crew follows to expose and prove each one, all booked through one point of contact.
Road and intersection upgrades where services cross the alignment.
Excavation beside rail corridors, where mechanical digging near signalling and communications assets carries too much risk.
Exposing water and sewer mains ahead of connections and renewals.
Electrical, gas and telecommunications asset exposure and proving.
Civil packages across the metropolitan area and the Ipswich and Logan growth areas.
Builders confirming services before piling, footings and connections.
The core of the fleet. Truck-mounted vacuum units for hydro excavation, service exposure and material recovery.
Supplied for: Hydro Excavation, Vacuum Excavation, Vacuum Loading
High-capacity 10x4 units for larger volumes and sustained excavation and recovery programmes on major projects.
Supplied for: Hydro Excavation, Vacuum Excavation, Hydro Tankers
High-capacity tankers, including a 16,000-litre capability, for large-volume material recovery on major projects.
Supplied for: Hydro Tankers, Vacuum Loading
Safety on site
Crews work across the metropolitan area from the Yeronga base, including the CBD, Ipswich, Logan, the Redlands, North Lakes, Springfield and Cleveland. Those areas are covered from Yeronga rather than from a depot in each suburb, and availability for a particular date is confirmed when you enquire.
Yes. Design-stage potholing is one of the most common Brisbane bookings. Tell us how many locations, the services you expect at each one and whether a surveyor will pick up the exposed assets, so the number of units and the sequence can be planned.
Water breaks up cohesive clay well, which is why hydro excavation handles it better than most methods. Rock and heavily cemented material slow any non-destructive method considerably, so if either is expected, raise it at enquiry and the scope and equipment will be set accordingly.
Operated vac trucks for excavation, pit clean-outs and material recovery.
Locating, exposing and proving buried services before design or excavation.
Stormwater and sewer camera inspection, blockage investigation and condition records.
Underground utility locating delivered by LADS, part of the Dynamic Group.
Industrial vacuum excavation for safe, efficient exposure and removal of material.
High-capacity hydro tankers for large-volume material recovery on major projects.
Excavators with experienced operators for civil earthworks and site preparation.
Hydro Excavation in other regions: Hydro Excavation Gold Coast, Hydro Excavation Sydney, Hydro Excavation Sunshine Coast, Hydro Excavation Newcastle, Hydro Excavation Wollongong, Hydro Excavation Townsville, Hydro Excavation Cairns, Hydro Excavation Coffs Harbour, Hydro Excavation Tweed Heads
Project evidence
Brisbane case studies where hydro excavation formed part of the scope.
Related insights
Written by the people who run this work, on how jobs are planned and what changes on site.
Hydro excavation combines a high-pressure water jet with high-volume suction to remove soil without a mechanical cutting edge. It is the standard method for exposing live underground services and for digging where a machine bucket cannot be used safely.
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On a civil site the excavation method is a programme decision as much as a safety one. Hydro excavation is specified because it narrows the range of things that can go wrong at the point where a project is most exposed.
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The two terms are often used as though they mean the same thing. In practice vacuum excavation describes the removal method and hydro excavation describes the cutting medium. Understanding the difference makes it easier to specify the right unit.
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Read ArticleTell us about the site and the work and the Brisbane team will respond. For urgent works, call 1300 822 878.
What to send us for an accurate hydro excavation quoteStep 1 of 6: Service