Hydrovac potholing, service proving and precision trenching from Coomera to Burleigh Heads, run by the crews and fleet based where Dynamic started in 2003.
Hydro excavation uses pressurised water to cut the ground and a vacuum unit to lift the slurry into a tank. Nothing mechanical touches the buried asset, which is why hydro excavation, often called hydrovac, is the standard non-destructive digging method for exposing live services on Gold Coast civil, utility and building sites.
The Gold Coast is where Dynamic began and where head office still sits, with depot capacity in the region alongside it. Units work from there across the city and its northern growth corridor for civil contractors, utilities, councils and the residential and high-rise construction sector.
Much of the Gold Coast is built on low-lying sand. Water cuts sand quickly, so progress is rarely the problem. Keeping the excavation open is. Dry sand runs, and saturated sand slumps back into the hole almost as fast as it is removed.
Hydro excavation copes with this better than a bucket because the spoil goes straight into the tank rather than onto a stockpile at the edge of a hole that is trying to close. Keeping potholes tight and working steadily to the target depth limits how much ground is disturbed around the asset.
In the canal estates and along the beachfront, groundwater can sit close to the surface. Once an excavation reaches it, the hole fills with water and the vacuum has to lift that water along with the soil.
That changes the volumes involved more than the method. A site likely to produce a lot of wet spoil is better served by a 10x4 vacuum truck, or by a hydro tanker working alongside the excavation unit, so the crew spends the shift digging rather than driving to tip. Mention known groundwater when you enquire.
Road upgrades on the Gold Coast carry services along and across the alignment, and proving them ahead of trenching is routine work for the local crews, often within traffic control on a live corridor.
In the growth areas around Coomera, Helensvale and Ormeau, new estates need recently installed services exposed and depths confirmed before the next trade connects. On high-rise and commercial sites, services are proved before piling, footings and connections, frequently hard against existing kerbs, pits and pavement.
Underground service locating is available through LADS, part of the Dynamic Group, so a site can be located and exposed within the same group. Excavators, bobcats, tip trucks and hydro tankers can be supplied with operators where a job needs more than a hydrovac.
Service proving ahead of trenching on live road corridors.
Subdivision and civil infrastructure works through the northern growth corridor.
Exposure of water, sewer, gas, electrical and telecommunications assets.
Service exposure before piling and connections on high-rise and commercial sites.
Capital works and streetscape upgrades where services must be proved first.
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
Sand is fast to cut but slow to hold open. The main challenge on the Gold Coast is stopping the excavation from slumping, especially once groundwater is reached. Crews plan for it with tight excavations and enough tank capacity for wet spoil.
The whole city and its growth corridors, including Southport, Nerang, Robina, Burleigh Heads, Helensvale, Coomera and Ormeau. Those areas are serviced from the Gold Coast base rather than a depot in each suburb.
Yes. Proving services along trafficked roads ahead of trenching is regular work for the Gold Coast crews. Traffic management is arranged as part of the scope, and approved work hours are confirmed before mobilising.
Operated vac trucks for excavation, wet spoil recovery and pit clean-outs.
NDD potholing and service proving with water or air, suited to coastal ground.
Drain camera inspection, silt investigation and pre-handover checks.
Underground utility locating delivered by LADS, part of the Dynamic Group.
High-capacity hydro tankers for large-volume material recovery on major projects.
Excavators with experienced operators for civil earthworks and site preparation.
Rapid mobilisation of crews and equipment for urgent and disaster-recovery works.
Hydro Excavation in other regions: Hydro Excavation Brisbane, 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
Gold Coast 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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LADS, Locate & Detection Specialists, joined the Dynamic Group in 2026. It brings CERTLOC accredited underground service locating and ground penetrating radar in house, alongside the excavation and inspection fleet.
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Read ArticleTell us about the site and the work and the Gold Coast team will respond. For urgent works, call 1300 822 878.
What to send us for an accurate hydro excavation quoteStep 1 of 6: Service