How Do Municipalities and Contractors Use Vacuum Trucks to Save Money?

Whether working in a municipality or as a contractor, public works, wastewater, and environmental departments are always searching for ways to reduce operational costs on projects. It’s no wonder that municipalities, government organizations, and a growing number of contractors, continue to opt to use vacuum trucks for a variety of projects including vacuum excavating, hydro excavation, sewer jetting, sewage removal, sewage disposal, sewer line cleaning, and so forth. These vacuum trucks, or combination machines, utilize high-pressure water and powerful vacuum systems in combination, hence their name, to increase efficiency.

The cost-savings accrued using a vacuum truck are compounded when the unit also features a recycler function. A recycler provides the operator with the option to reuse water already in the vacuum truck system, which results in a multitude of benefits.

Below are just a few ways in which the use of combination vacuum trucks – with and without a recycler feature – can help municipalities and contractors save on running costs.

Reducing Labor Costs

The use of vacuum trucks can help save labor costs. Traditional or manual methods of excavation and daylighting often require several workers to assist with clearing and digging. On the contrary, vacuum trucks are designed to complete these tasks with only one or two operators, breaking up the soil with the high-pressure water and removing the debris with the vacuum system. This powerful unit allows for fewer workers to have to be onsite to complete the project, reducing overall labor costs.

Increasing Efficiency and Saving Time

As the saying goes, “Time is Money!” Using a combination vacuum truck with recycler feature enables municipalities and contractors to work more projects in a day, week, month and year. How does it do that? Utilizing vacuum trucks on projects can reduce the overall time on the job, as opposed to traditional methods of excavating. In cases of sewer and catch basin cleaning, a recycler function on a vacuum truck allows the operator more time on the jobsite. Reusing water already in the system eliminates the need for the truck to return to a utility site to refill its tanks, taking time away from the project. This time-savings can allow for a department to work more jobs during the year, as well as positions them to be a top contender for project bids with the excess of time and resources.

Utilizing Recycled Water

The recycler feature on a combination vacuum truck helps operators save both water and money at the meter. The recycler vacuum truck utilizes less water than a traditional combination vacuum truck. The recycling feature allows operators to reuse water while cleaning storm and sewer lines versus continuing to refill the fresh water tanks with water from the local utilities and meters. This also reduces the amount of water that is sent back down the sewer and through treatment plants to be redirected for use once again. Overall savings include water consumption and taxpayers’ dollars making for a win-win scenario when using a vacuum truck equipped with a recycling function.

As obvious from the examples above, utilizing a vacuum truck can save money and increase efficiency for both municipalities and contractors on excavation and sewer jetting projects. Vacuum trucks outfitted with a recycler feature can help save even more including water and taxpayer dollars when cleaning sewer pipelines and catch basins. To learn more about how you can reduce labor costs, increase efficiencies, and save time, contact us today!