Soft Digs
Soft dig services using hydro excavation in Florida
Southeast Locates provides American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Level A Damage Prevention for underground utilities using vacuum excavation.
Site conditions often make the use of hand tools to expose underground facilities difficult and impractical; vacuum excavation is often an appropriate alternative to excavating safely around underground facilities. We specifically use hydro excavation, a form of vacuum excavation that uses water jet devices to penetrate, expand, and break up the soil. When the liquified spoils are returned to the excavated area, the exposed underground utilities and infrastructure are as protected and stabilized by solids as they were before the hydro excavation.
Southeast Locates adheres to the best practices set forth by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA). According to the GCA, "Vacuum excavation, when used appropriately, is an efficient, safe and effective alternative to hand digging within the designated underground facility tolerance zone."
Our vacuum excavation equipment has been specifically designed and built for this purpose. Our workers are experienced operators and excavate in accordance with state and local ordinances.
Advantages of Vacuum Excavation:
- Vacuum excavations are much faster than hand digging.
- Soft digs using hydro excavation don't carry the same risk of damaging buried utilities and causing utility accidents as hand digging and backhoes do.
- Surface patching of a small pothole left by a vacuum excavation is faster and easier.
Our process eliminates settling from rain, groundwater, and vehicle tires, protecting fragile underground utilities from damage.