Non-destructive vacuum excavation across SEQ.
Vacuum excavation (also called non-destructive digging or NDD) uses high-pressure water and powerful suction to safely excavate around underground services, tree roots and sensitive site features — without the impact of mechanical digging.
Rivercity Environmental's vac capability supports civil works, tree-protection digging, service location/exposure works, hydro-excavation and other tasks where lower-impact, lower-risk excavation is required across South East Queensland.
Our crews work closely with civil contractors, councils, arborists, telco and utility partners to deliver vacuum excavation that respects underground assets, tree health and site safety.
Where mechanical digging is too risky — we use water and air.
Around live services, in tree protection zones, on heritage and footpath verges, near telco and utility infrastructure. Vacuum excavation gives civil partners and councils a safer way to expose, locate or trench without the cost of asset strikes or root damage.
Vacuum excavation capability.
Safer non-destructive digging around services, tree roots and sensitive site features.
- Non-destructive digging (NDD)
- Service location & exposure
- Pothole excavation (potholing)
- Tree-protection digging
- Trenching support
- Hydro-excavation
- Civil site support
- Telco & utility support
- Sensitive area excavation
- Council asset support
- Spoil handling & disposal
- Dial Before You Dig coordination
How a vacuum excavation job runs.
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01
DBYD & site review
Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) plans, service drawings and site context are reviewed before any excavation begins.
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02
Site set-up
Traffic management, exclusion zones, environmental controls and operator PPE are set up before work commences.
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03
Marking & potholing
Service alignments are confirmed via potholing, exposing services with hydro-vac to verify location and depth.
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04
Controlled excavation
Vacuum excavation removes spoil with low risk to underground assets, tree roots and sensitive features.
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05
Spoil handling
Spoil is captured in the vac unit and disposed of, reused or stored on site as required by the project.
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06
Reinstatement
Holes are reinstated to specification — backfilled, compacted and surfaced — and records are provided.
Where vac excavation is used.
- Civil and infrastructure projects
- Public road corridors
- Council asset works
- Landscape projects with services
- Tree-protection zones
- Construction sites
- Streetscape upgrades
- Telco, gas, water and electrical asset works
Vacuum excavation across South East Queensland.
Our vac excavation crews work across Brisbane, Logan, the Gold Coast, Ipswich and Moreton Bay — supporting civil, infrastructure, telco, council and arboriculture projects from depots in Slacks Creek, Lawnton, Molendinar and Bundamba.
How we deliver vacuum excavation safely and compliantly.
- ISO 45001 - Occupational Health and Safety
- NHVR heavy vehicle compliance
- Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) plan compliance
- Service-locator (SLP/Telstra/Energex) protocols respected
- AS 4970 — Tree protection compliance for tree-zone work
- MUTCD QLD traffic management for road-corridor work
- ISO 14001 — Environmental Management
Other capabilities that pair with vacuum excavation.
Vacuum excavation — common questions.
What is non-destructive digging?
Non-destructive digging (NDD) uses high-pressure water and powerful suction rather than mechanical digging — reducing the risk of damaging underground services, tree roots and sensitive site features.
Do you work to Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) plans?
Yes — every job starts with current DBYD plans and service drawings, with potholing used to confirm alignments before excavation proceeds.
Do you support tree-protection works?
Yes — vacuum excavation is well-suited to careful digging within tree protection zones (AS 4970) where root and soil disturbance must be minimised.
Can you handle spoil and waste removal?
Yes — spoil is captured in the vac unit and managed through the project — disposal, on-site reuse or stockpile — depending on the scope.
Do you provide service location and potholing?
Yes — service location, potholing and confirmation of alignments are core parts of our vacuum excavation work for civil, telco and utility projects.
Can you support after-hours or reactive work?
Yes — after-hours and reactive vacuum excavation work can be arranged subject to availability, traffic management requirements and notice.
Do you have traffic-management capability?
Yes — for road-corridor, council and active site work we arrange traffic management plans and on-site traffic controllers to MUTCD QLD requirements.
Where do you work?
Across South East Queensland — Brisbane, Logan, the Gold Coast, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay — supporting civil, infrastructure, council, telco and project clients.
Got a project in
South East Queensland?
Talk to the Rivercity Environmental team about your site, scope and timing. Real people, real depots, real response — every enquiry goes straight to our SEQ ops team.
- 4 SEQ depots
- 26+ years operating
- Same-day reactive
