The Importance of Hydro Excavating in El Paso: What You Need to Know 

Digging into the earth is an important part of growing and expanding our civilization, especially here in El Paso. Erecting structures and cities is part of how human history has evolved. We have adapted our environment to allow the flourishing of the human population. Hydro excavating is a modern form of site preparation that has improved construction.

In today’s construction industry, there are several methods by which companies can excavate the earth to prepare a site for construction, utility installation, or other building projects. 

If you’re looking for excavation services in the El Paso area, trust an experienced company like LB & Sons that values quality service and safety for your project. 

What is Hydro Excavation?

Hydro excavation refers to a specialized process of earth excavation to prepare sites for building, construction, utility installation, and even some landscaping projects. The process is also known in the industry as vacuum excavation, and it uses pressurized water and a vacuum to extract soils and dirt from a designated area. 

Before the development of the hydro-vac, excavation projects involved heavy equipment like backhoes and large crews, which posed much higher safety concerns.  At the same time, manual excavations were slow and labor intensive. When conducting a manual dig, the sharp tools had the potential to strike an important water or gas line. 

Hydro excavation eliminates that risk from the equation because it is much more precise, measured, and uses pressurized water. Although the process of excavating using pressurized water has been around for some time, vacuum trucks did not become common practice until about the 1970s and 80s. 

How Does the Process of Hydro Excavation Work?

The hydro excavation process begins with the use of specialized vehicles and equipment. The process relies on a good-quality hydro vacuum and a team that knows how to operate it properly. The crew uses the pressurized water to break up soil, and the vacuum then extracts the loosed soil and mud into a debris tank. 

What are the Benefits of Hydro Excavation? 

The use of hydro vacuums became popular for several reasons. The process of hydro excavation provides several benefits for construction crews and contractors. Hydro excavation is known to be: 

• Cost-effective: The hydro excavation technique is far more cost-effective than traditional excavation methods. Because of its accuracy and safety, it reduced costs on the growth by eliminating the need for large crews, wasted time, or bad digs. 
• Safer than traditional methods: As mentioned above, the process of hydro excavation eliminates the need for sharp and heavy tools that need to be manually used. 
• Increased efficiency: In addition to added safety and reduced cost, the hydro excavation method improves efficiency. Digging holes with old machinery or manually is time-consuming and involves a lot of manual labor. With this process, the digging is not only simplified but the extracted dirt and debris is automatically sucked out through the vacuum and collected in the truck to be disposed of later. 
• Improved cleanup time: Part of the improved efficiency of this method comes in the form of reduced time for the cleanup process. Traditional methods required removing the debris and waste manually, which required almost an entire day for only the clean-up. This would increase manual costs for project owners and increase manual labor for the contractor. 
• Results in fewer repairs and external damage. Hydro excavation is a non-mechanic and non-destructive method. It is useful when job sites require accurate work where the rest of the site is left untouched or undamaged. Traditional methods often carried collateral damage by destroying or damaging nearby infrastructure or soil. With the accuracy of hydro excavation, there is much less damage and, therefore, less need for repairs or patchwork. 

Hire a Hydro Excavation Company That Maintains Quality and Gets the Job Done Fast 

Hydro excavation is an important part of the construction process. For many projects, it is the initial stage, as it is when the job site is prepared and readied for foundations or utility installation. As the city and county of El Paso grow in population and infrastructure, the construction industry requires trusted contractors that can perform an accurate job and do it on time.

Our mission at LB and Sons is to provide efficient and quality service that assists the construction industry in completing projects. We have been working on projects across Texas and the Southwest for more than three decades. 

Want to learn more about what we do here at LB & Sons? Call us today and speak to one of our representatives.