Do Hydrovac Companies Offer Culvert Cleaning Services in Bonnyville and ColdLake

Hydrovac teams in Bonnyville and Cold Lake offer culvert cleaning services. Their methods for clearing out a culvert that is chocked depend on the type of blockage. Culverts are structures made from concrete or metal that allow drainage water or a natural stream to pass under a roadway or railroad track.

In Northern Alberta, it is common for material passing through a culvert to freeze in the winter and require attention in spring to avoid flooding. There are other reasons a culvert can be blocked like thick layers of sediment, parts of trees, or garbage. Depending on what materials are causing the blockage and their size, the hydrovac crew decides on a solution.

It's better to be safe than sorry when clearing a culvert

Brashly removing debris on the drain side of a culvert can be dangerous as it can unplug the flow of water, leading to other objects' movement. Using long metal pipes to dig and remove debris from the downstream side is a viable solution. If the material blocking the culvert is frozen, it's an activity best suited for a hydrovac crew. Water heated on the hydrovac truck with a one million BTU boiler can be blasted by the wand to cut through the ice, allowing water and debris to flow through the culvert.

If the culvert is blocked by sand, silt, mud, clay, or other soil types, a wand can be used on the entrance side. One of the other ways a hydrovac team can unblock a culvert from the entrance side in a case like this is using a 'snake.' This innovative method uses a tip installed on the end of a long hose which has one jet at the front that blasts through debris or ice. It also has six jets pointing backward that push the dislodged debris out for the hydrovac to suck up into the tank for disposal.

What is a 'wand' for hydrovacing?

The wand plays an essential part in culvert cleaning services for Cold Lake and Bonnyville. It is used by the 'operator' in a hydrovac crew. The wand sprays water from the tanker on the hydrovac truck with a force that can make soft concrete crumble. The spray of water is not always required as a blast, especially when spraying close to cables and pipelines. To adjust the water's speed and pressure, a 'swamper' with a wireless remote control assists the operator. By sending commands to the truck using the remote control, the wand's spray can be controlled. It also enables the swamper to control the force of the vacuum for sucking up sludge.

Culvert cleaning might sound like it's easy, but there can be many complications when the debris below the surface is not visible. Also, the culvert area under the roadway or railroad track might be hidden from sight. Considering these unknown factors, culvert cleaning services in Bonnyville and Cold Lake should be assigned to hydrovac crews which can identify the best solutions.

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Neilstark Joined: October 25th, 2019