Hydro-Excavation

Hydro-Excavation utilizes pressurized water to break up the ground into small pieces. Then the ground is removed via air conveyance into a debris tank. Water is powerful enough to carve the Grand Canyon, yet it is gentle enough to wash a new-born baby. The technology provides a non-destructive means to safely locate underground utilities and precisely excavate an area. Hydro-excavation work is just another example of our innovative technology and a specialized technique that C.J. Erickson is experienced in performing for our clients.

In 2009 C.J. Erickson instituted a “Critical Dig” procedure for all underground utility work. Surface locating of utilities near or around a planned excavation is standard practice. We take this a step further by finding the utility at its underground location prior to any excavation with heavy equipment.

Hydro-excavation technology allows C.J. Erickson Plumbing to help with:

C.J. Erickson uses hydro-excavation technology to repair demanding water main breaks quickly with a level of safety and precision simply not achievable by traditional methods.

When a commercial customer suspects a water main break, our crew will arrive at the site and determine if close proximity to utility poles, other buried utility lines and overall safety concerns will make it difficult and costly to excavate using standard equipment. When that is the case, we we use our hydro-excavator to uncover all buried utilities and expose the broken water main. Hydro-excavation enables us to keep the area exposed and control the water.

Instead of using a back-hoe or many man-hours to dig a trench in a very tight, demanding location, our hydro-excavator digs a narrow, precise trench by forcing 2000 to 3000 PSI water through a steel nozzle. Resulting water and slurry are vacuumed into our self-contained debris tank and removed from the site.

Our customers benefit from fault-free, safe underground repairs made in a timely, cost-efficient manner – made possible by our investment in clean, precise hydro-excavation technology.