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GTA Dispatch Zone 30-40 min from our yard City of Vaughan (York Region)

Hydrovac Services in Vaughan: Culvert Flushing, Daylighting & Potholing From the VMC to Woodbridge and Kleinburg

By The Metro Hydrovac Toronto Crew ·

200+
Local Projects
ZERO
Utility Strikes
$280+/HR
Published Rate
24/7
Sewer & Water Main
▣ Local Dispatch Record

Hydrovac services in Vaughan cover non-destructive potholing, daylighting, culvert flushing and vacuum cleanouts using pressurized water and a high-vacuum truck. Since Line 1 reached the city's new downtown in December 2017, the 179-hectare VMC has gone from big box stores to towers, with a target of 25,000 residents by 2031.

That growth puts new telecom, hydro and district energy lines into ground that was a parking lot a decade ago, and every crane pad and shoring line needs those services exposed first. The industrial parks on Keele St and Weston Rd and the Concord blocks add a steady list of sump, interceptor and catch basin cleanouts.

Digging into a city road allowance needs a Road Occupancy Permit, which takes at least 10 business days to process, so we build that lead time into the schedule. In Kleinburg and Woodbridge, work near the Humber River valley can fall inside TRCA regulated areas. Our Highway 400 municipal culvert flushing job ran two days for $14,600 on the same published CAD rates as the rest of the GTA.

Jobs here run on the same owned trucks, Red Seal crews and published CAD rate card as all of our hydrovac services across Toronto and the GTA.

Metro Hydrovac Toronto crew exposing utilities at a GTA construction site GTA DISPATCH ZONE

Neighbourhoods we cover

Kleinburg (L4H)Woodbridge (L4L)Thornhill (L4J)Concord (L4K)Maple (L6A)

Postal codes we cover: L4H, L4L, L4J, L4K, L6A

Industrial corridors

Vaughan Metropolitan CentreHighway 400 / 407Keele St industrial parksWeston Rd industrial parksConcord industrial area

Response: Scheduled within days; 24/7 for water main, sewer and insurance emergencies

20 YRS
GTA Hydrovac Experience
ZERO
Utility Strikes, 2,000+ Jobs
OHS 213/91
Excavation Compliant
$5,000,000
Commercial Liability
5-Star Customer Satisfaction Top-Rated Toronto Hydrovac Contractor 2,000+ Projects Completed ON1Call Certified Locators Written Workmanship Warranty Scheduled Digs: Business Hours
Project Risk Audit

Permit Deadlines and Buried Lines on Vaughan Sites

LOCAL CONDITION

Ten-day permit lead times colliding with VMC crane pad dates

The crane pad or shoring date is fixed, but the utilities under the boulevard have not been exposed and the road permit is not in hand yet.

Why it happens here: The City needs at least 10 business days to process a Road Occupancy Permit, and around the VMC new telecom and hydro lines go in faster than records are updated.

What we do: We schedule hydrovac excavation test pits against the permit date, keep all spoil in the tank instead of on the right-of-way, and log depth and offset at every crossing.

SIGN 01 TOLERANCE ZONE

Your dig sits inside a gas or fiber locate tolerance zone

CSA Z247 and the utility owner expect non-destructive exposure before machines move. One bucket strike can run past $50,000 CAD in repairs and fines.

SIGN 02 DESIGN RISK

Your engineer is working from paint marks

Locates show position, not depth. Test pits at $800-$2,500 each give real depth and offset numbers before drawings are stamped.

SIGN 03 TIGHT ACCESS

There is no room to swing a backhoe

Laneways, garage vaults and tight frontage. The truck parks at the curb and the hose reaches up to 200 ft to the dig.

Local Services

What We Run Most, Concord to Kleinburg

Culvert flushing along Highway 400, potholing around VMC towers and industrial cleanouts in Concord, Woodbridge, Maple, Thornhill and Kleinburg.

Two-person Metro Hydrovac Toronto crew potholing a utility crossing with a pressure wand and vacuum hose beside a hydrovac truck on a Toronto street $280-$450/HR

Hydrovac Excavation

Hydrovac excavation is non-destructive digging that uses 3,000-4,000 PSI pressurized water to cut soil loose and 27 inch Hg vacuum to lift the slurry into a debris tank, exposing buried gas, hydro, fiber and water lines without a steel bucket ever touching them. We run it on Vactor 2100i and Vac-Con V390 trucks for utility potholing, backfill removal around live services, test pits before auger work, and confined space digs where a backhoe cannot fit. Every job starts with an Ontario One Call locate and runs under OHS Reg 213/91 construction protocol plus CSA Z247 ground disturbance standards. Depth, size and material logged with photos at every exposure, with 100% first-visit utility coordination approval across 2,000+ GTA projects.

A utility GC on Finch Ave W found that out the easy way. We exposed 14 live gas junctions on their site using the 3,500 PSI wand, logged depth and offset at every one, and the Enbridge inspector signed off on all 14 on the first visit. The whole job came in at $3,200 CAD. Trust us, you're in good hands. Nine times out of ten, this is where the previous contractor cut a corner and left a $50K strike liability on the table.

View Excavation rates →
Crew of two vacuuming a municipal catch basin on Danforth Ave in Toronto beside a vacuum truck $280-$450/HR

Sewer & Culvert Cleaning

Sewer and culvert cleaning combines high-pressure sewer jetter nozzles, flexible hose reels on Vactor sewer units and 27 inch Hg vacuum recovery to clear silt, grease, roots and construction debris from municipal storm sewers, catch basins, interceptor vaults, oil-grit separators, culvert pipes and commercial grease traps across the GTA. We work to Toronto Water, Peel Region and Halton Region catch basin program specifications, document every inlet and outlet with before-and-after photographs, and record disposal volumes against MECP waste manifests. Sediment sumps on our Vactor 2100i trucks capture solids before transport so one visit handles the jet, the vacuum and the inspection record. Grease trap cleanouts, storm drain emergency flushing and culvert flushing around CSA concrete pipes all handled in-house with Hannay reel systems and licensed slurry disposal.

A municipal procurement officer in Vaughan handed us 42 silted culverts on a Highway 400 shoulder maintenance package. We ran two 6,000-gallon trucks for two days, flushed every inlet and outlet, and delivered a photo log plus Halton Region disposal records before the invoice went out at $14,600 CAD. Every culvert cleared the first visit. Nine times out of ten, this is where the previous contractor left half the job on the record.

View Sewer & Culvert rates →
Hydrovac rental truck with operator and contractor reviewing a site plan on a GTA utility relocation $1,120+/HALF-DAY

Hydrovac Rentals

Hydrovac rentals cover operated truck rental by the half-day, full day, week or project, with a Vactor 2100i or Vac-Con V390 unit and a Red Seal certified operator who holds a DZ licence, CSA Z247 ground disturbance training and a confined space entry ticket. Every rental includes mobilization, standby time, published fuel and disposal rates, and a tank capacity worksheet for your project manager. We quote half-day rates at $1,120-$1,800 CAD, full 8-hour days at $2,240-$3,600 CAD, and full-week project rates at $12,000-$22,000 CAD. All three trucks TSSA pressure vessel compliant, all operators WSIB registered, no subcontractors on your site. Bare rental is not offered because we never put an untrained operator behind the wand.

A commercial GC on a four-week downtown foundation project needed a dedicated hydrovac truck and operator from Monday to Friday across the entire schedule. We quoted $18,400 CAD per week for the Vactor 2100i plus the operator, delivered on time every day, and the project finished a full week ahead of the original schedule. Trust us, you're in good hands. It still blows our mind when a job comes in that clean.

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Two crew members daylighting orange fiber optic conduits in a clean trench along Lakeshore Blvd in Toronto $350-$500/HR

Daylighting & Line Locating

Daylighting is non-destructive utility exposure using 3,500 PSI pressurized water and 27 inch Hg vacuum to visually verify the exact position, depth and material of buried fiber optic cable, high-pressure gas distribution mains, electrical duct banks, cast iron water mains and tracer wire before any bore, drill or trench cuts through them. We work from Subsurface Utility Engineering Quality Level A standards, inside the locate tolerance zone defined by Ontario One Call, and log depth, size and condition for every exposure. The result is a dig that proceeds with real coordinates, not paint marks. We daylight for Enbridge Gas pre-dig, Toronto Hydro vault access, Bell Canada fiber corridor work, HDD and trenchless crossings, and emergency water main depth confirmation under CSA Z247.

A telecom GC on the Toronto Port Lands had a dig-in with another crew the week before they called us. We exposed 180 ft of buried fiber in three days using 3,500 PSI and 27 inch Hg vacuum, logged depth every metre, and the ON1Call locator signed off on the first visit. The $18,400 CAD invoice held to the published rate card. Trust us, this is where the first contractor cut a corner.

View Daylighting rates →
Two-person crew in Tyvek protective suits removing contaminated soil at a Toronto brownfield site with a Vactor 2100i hydrovac truck $350-$550/HR

Contaminated Soil Removal

Contaminated soil removal is hazmat-rated hydrovac work that uses 3,500 PSI pressurized water and 27 inch Hg vacuum to lift petroleum-impacted, heavy-metal-impacted and salt-contaminated soil from Toronto brownfield sites, Phase II Environmental Site Assessment digs, underground storage tank removals and spill response calls, straight into a sealed debris tank for direct haul to an MECP-licensed receiving facility. We run Vactor 2100i and Super Products Mud Dog trucks with hazmat-trained operators who hold confined space entry tickets and CSA Z247 ground disturbance training. Every load travels under Ontario Regulation 406/19 (Excess Soil Management) with a complete soil characterization package: ASTM D1586 sampling, Table 1-9 analytical results tied to the manifest and a receiving-site acceptance letter in your project file.

A Toronto brownfield developer needed 48 cubic metres of petroleum-impacted soil removed from an infill site in East Toronto before Phase II ESA sign-off. We staged a 6,000-gallon Vactor 2100i with a hazmat-trained operator, ran four truck turnovers across two days, delivered every load to a Class 2 MECP-licensed receiving facility with manifest records, and the environmental consultant signed off on the first visit. Invoice came in at $14,800 CAD. Nine times out of ten, this is where a conventional excavator would have left a documentation gap.

View Soil Removal rates →
Night-time hydrovac truck and two-person crew at a flooded water main break on a Toronto street $450-$650/HR

24/7 Emergency Hydrovac

Emergency hydrovac covers after-hours response for water main breaks, sewer backups, insurance claim exposure, curb stop access and construction site utility strikes across the Toronto GTA, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We dispatch within 2 hours of the call, mobilize a Vactor 2100i or Vac-Con V390 truck with a Red Seal operator, and run 3,500 PSI water with 27 inch Hg vacuum to expose the cause of loss, dewater the site, and deliver a time-stamped photo log for your insurance adjuster or restoration contractor. Published after-hours rate is $450-$650 CAD per hour with a 4-hour minimum callout. Toronto Water, Peel Region and Halton Region coordination handled, sanitary backup containment managed to Ontario Reg 406/19 slurry disposal standards.

An insurance adjuster working a Scarborough plaza sewer backup called us at 11:00 PM in January. Truck was on site in 90 minutes, backup vacuumed, blockage exposed and photographed, and the adjuster had the file by 06:00 the next morning. Six hours of after-hours work, $3,100 CAD invoice, case closed. Trust us, you're in good hands on the overnight shift. Nine times out of ten, that is when the previous contractor could not pick up the phone.

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Two-person crew excavating a row of pile holes for a house addition in Toronto with the hydrovac boom overhead $400-$600/HR

Pile Hole Excavation

Pile hole excavation is non-destructive digging that uses 3,000-4,000 PSI water and 27 inch Hg vacuum to clear the exact footprint for helical piles, caissons, sonotube footings and retaining wall anchors to foundation depth, without striking buried utilities on their way down. We work past frost depth on winter projects using heated water, maintain plumb tolerance on every hole with a laser rig, and manage spoil directly into the debris tank so there is no mess on the slab or landscape. Vac-Con V390 trucks on tight residential lots, Vactor 2100i on commercial foundation work, every hole documented for your foundation footing engineer and compliant with OHS Reg 213/91 construction excavation and CSA Z247 ground disturbance standards.

A foundation GC near Pearson Airport had 18 helical pile locations to clear through buried telecom and electrical before the auger crew could start. We prepped every one in a single 10-hour day using the 3,500 PSI wand, logged depth and offset, and the auger rig followed without a single strike. Invoice came in at $9,200 CAD, matching the published day rate exactly. Trust us, this is why the GC called us back for the next three jobs.

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Two crew members cutting a narrow slot trench along a Markham boulevard with orange conduit ready to lay $300-$450/HR

Slot Trenching

Slot trenching is narrow non-destructive excavation that uses 3,500 PSI pressurized water and 27 inch Hg vacuum to cut linear trenches between 4 and 8 inches wide for fiber optic lateral runs, electrical conduit, irrigation line installation and utility interconnect work, through congested right-of-ways where open-cut would hit three or four buried services. We run X-Vac X-13 and Vactor 2100i trucks on asphalt saw-cut edges, minimize spoil with controlled recovery into the debris tank, and reinstate the surface to municipal right-of-way permit specification. Every slot goes in past a tracer wire with recorded depth. Fiber optic trenching on the Highway 7 tech corridor, electrical conduit runs through downtown parking garages and conduit runs across municipal easements all handled with Red Seal certified operators.

A fiber installer on the Markham tech corridor needed 420 ft of new conduit through a shared right-of-way with Bell, Hydro One, Enbridge and the municipal storm sewer. We exposed every crossing first, then cut the slot trench in four days using the 3,500 PSI wand and recovered spoil continuously. $22,800 CAD invoice held to the rate card. Everytime we do slot work in that corridor, it goes in without a nick.

View Slot Trenching rates →
Metro Hydrovac Toronto vacuum truck crew of two cleaning an industrial sump at a Toronto warehouse $280-$450/HR

Vacuum Truck Services

Vacuum truck services use high-capacity 2,500-6,000 gallon tanks on Vactor 2100i and Super Products Mud Dog trucks to recover wet slurry, dry debris, industrial sludge, liquid industrial waste and spent drilling fluids from job sites across the Greater Toronto Area. We run 27 inch Hg suction with cyclonic filtration and decant systems that separate solids before transport, so one truck can handle a pit, a sump, a lift station and a confined space in the same shift. Every load leaves with a waste manifest to a licensed MECP disposal site, and every TSSA-compliant pressure vessel on our fleet carries current inspection records. Industrial tank cleaning, construction site debris, oil-grit separators and interceptor vaults handled with Red Seal certified operators and confined space entry tickets.

A food manufacturer in Mississauga needed their 15,000-gallon brine tank cleaned during a 24-hour maintenance window. We staged two 6,000-gallon trucks, ran four turnover cycles on the sludge dewatering circuit, and had the tank inspection-ready by 06:30 the next morning. Final invoice was $8,400 CAD. Everytime we do these overnight shifts, we treat the clock like a published rate card. It still blows our mind when we finish one of these on schedule.

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5-Step Dig Protocol

How a Permit-Ready Dig Works

  1. STEP 01

    Locate & Permit Check

    We confirm your Ontario One Call ticket and the municipal road permit, walk the marks and photograph the site before the wand starts.

  2. STEP 02

    Truck Staging & Traffic Control

    The truck parks to keep the boom short and the hose clear of traffic, with cones and signage set to your traffic plan.

  3. STEP 03

    Pressurized Excavation

    3,500 PSI water loosens the soil and 27 inch Hg vacuum lifts it into the tank, so spoil never sits on the boulevard.

  4. STEP 04

    Depth Log & Sign-Off

    Depth, size, material and offset logged with photos at every exposure, ready for the locator or inspector.

  5. STEP 05

    Licensed Disposal & Handover

    Slurry goes to a licensed facility with records for your file, and the site is left swept.

Got a Crane Pad Date? Book the Truck Now

Free on-site assessment for commercial projects, an itemised CAD quote with rate, mobilization, disposal and locates on separate lines, and a written workmanship warranty on every job.

Published Rate Matrix (CAD)

Published Hydrovac Rates (CAD)

Every GTA job uses the same rate card: $280-$350 CAD per hour for a standard truck and 2-person crew, with a 4-hour minimum. Mobilization from our Toronto yard is one fixed line.

Published Hydrovac Rates (CAD)
Equipment, Crew or Scope Published Rate (CAD) Minimum / Base
Standard hydrovac truck + 2-person crew $280-$350/hr 4 hrs ($1,120-$1,400)
Large tank truck (6,000 gal) + 2-person crew $350-$450/hr 4 hrs ($1,400-$1,800)
Daylighting fiber or gas line (10-20 ft run) $1,500-$4,500 Per run
Catch basin cleaning (standard) $600-$1,800 Per basin
Pile hole excavation (4-6 ft deep) $1,200-$3,500 Per set
Emergency 24/7 off-hours (water main, sewer, insurance) $450-$650/hr 4 hrs

Every quote itemises hourly rate, mobilization, disposal and locate fees separately.

Why Local Crews Call Us

Why York Region Builders Use Our Crews

  • 01 Highway 400 municipal culvert flushing: $14,600 over 2 days
  • 02 Daylighting and potholing around VMC tower sites
  • 03 Operated rentals for multi-day Kleinburg and Woodbridge jobs
  • 04 Industrial park sump and interceptor cleanouts with manifests
  • 05 York Region disposal requirements handled on every job
  • 06 Published CAD rates, same card as Toronto
Local Project Record

Highway 400 municipal culvert flushing

$14,600 CAD 2 days

A run of municipal culverts along Highway 400 had silted in after a wet spring. We flushed with the jetter and pulled sediment with the 6,000 gallon truck over two days, photographed every inlet and outlet, and handed over disposal records for the municipal file.

View the service →
Crew logging the depth of an exposed utility on a GTA boulevard FIELD LOG
Client Field Reports

What Vaughan Clients Say

“Exposed six utility crossings for a townhome site entrance off Islington. Full day, $2,450 CAD, depth and offset logged for the engineer.”
Matteo G. · Woodbridge (L4L)
“Culvert under our farm-gate entrance was silted shut. Flushed and vacuumed in a morning, $1,350 CAD.”
Karen D. · Maple (L6A)
“Two-day operated rental for a custom home service trench. $5,100 CAD, same operator both days, never late.”
Sanjay V. · Kleinburg (L4H)

5-Star Customer Satisfaction · Top-Rated Toronto Hydrovac Contractor

Local Logistics & Site Familiarity

Vaughan Ground Conditions We Know

Running Trucks Up the 400

The city is a straight shot up the 400 from our yard, and most sites are 30-40 minutes away.

  • Vaughan Metropolitan Centre: high-rise towers, the Line 1 subway extension and new road grids. Crane pads, utility relocations and test pits are booked early in the day before site traffic builds.
  • Highway 400 and 407 corridor: culverts, ditch inlets and roadside utility work where traffic control and MTO or 407 ETR requirements are planned ahead.
  • Concord industrial area and the Keele St and Weston Rd parks: sumps, trench drains, interceptors and catch basins, usually on 4-hour callouts.
  • Woodbridge and Maple: townhome and infill sites off Islington and Major Mackenzie where potholing confirms service connections.
  • Kleinburg: custom homes and estate lots, often with long service runs where an operated rental for a day or two makes more sense than a callout.

York Region water and wastewater rules shape how we handle slurry and flushing water, and disposal is booked at licensed facilities north of the city.

What We Dig Around Most

Buried services here are newer than downtown Toronto's but much denser around the VMC, and the industrial parks have decades of add-ons.

  • VMC towers and podiums: layered telecom, hydro duct banks and district energy lines. Daylighting before shoring and crane pad work is standard.
  • Highway 400 culverts: our municipal culvert flushing job here ran two days and $14,600 with photo records for every structure.
  • Concord and Keele St industrial units: oil-grit separators and trench drains that need cleaning on a schedule, with waste manifests for the facility file.
  • Woodbridge and Maple townhome sites: six or more utility crossings at a site entrance are common, and each one gets a depth and offset entry.
  • Thornhill: older services along Yonge and Bathurst where records are thin and test pits pay for themselves.

Alectra Utilities and Enbridge Gas both run major infrastructure through the city, so locate tickets are verified on site before the wand starts.

Landmarks near our job sites

Vaughan Metropolitan CentreCanada's WonderlandVaughan MillsCortellucci Vaughan HospitalMcMichael Canadian Art Collection

Highways & transit

Highway 400Highway 407Highway 427Highway 7Vaughan Metropolitan Centre stationHighway 407 stationMaple GORutherford GO

A straight run up the 400 from our yard, with the 407 and 427 reaching Concord, Woodbridge and Kleinburg.

Permits, Utilities and Site Conditions

  • BUILTVaughan Metropolitan Centre station opened on December 17, 2017 as the north end of Line 1, and the 179-hectare VMC is planned for 25,000 residents by 2031. Source: en.wikipedia.org
  • REGULATORYDigging into a city road allowance needs a Road Occupancy Permit; the City needs at least 10 business days to process it and 20 business days for Municipal Consent. Source: vaughan.ca
  • REGULATORYRoad occupancy applicants may not store or dump material or equipment within the municipal right-of-way. Source: vaughan.ca
  • ENVIRONMENTTRCA regulates river and stream valleys in its watershed, including the Humber River, and development or interference with a watercourse there needs a TRCA permit. Source: trca.ca
Coverage Map

Request a Hydrovac Quote

Send the site address and scope. We reply with an itemised CAD quote and a date.

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Itemised quote: rate, mobilization, disposal, locates. No email required.

Field Questions

Common Questions About Our Vaughan Service

Do you work at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre?

Yes. VMC tower sites and the Highway 400/407 utility work around them are some of our most common jobs, usually booked early before site traffic builds.

Do you flush municipal culverts?

Yes. Our Highway 400 municipal culvert flushing job ran two days for $14,600, with photos of every inlet and outlet and disposal records for the file.

Can you service industrial parks on Keele St and Weston Rd?

Yes. Sump, interceptor and catch basin cleanouts in those parks are regular work for our vacuum trucks.

How quickly can you get to Vaughan?

Most Concord, Woodbridge and Maple sites are 30-40 minutes up the 400 from our yard, so scheduled digs are typically booked within days.

Do you offer operated hydrovac rentals for multi-day jobs?

Yes. Operated rentals run $1,120-$1,800 CAD for a half-day, $2,240-$3,600 for a full day and $12,000-$22,000 for a week. Kleinburg custom home sites often book one or two days.

Do you pothole for townhome and subdivision entrances?

Yes. We expose every crossing at the entrance and log depth and offset for the engineer, usually in a single full day.

Do you work in Thornhill?

Yes. Thornhill sites along Yonge and Bathurst often have thin utility records, so test pits before design are a common request.

How long does a road permit take before you can dig?

The City of Vaughan needs at least 10 business days for a Road Occupancy Permit and 20 for Municipal Consent. We plan test pits around that window and keep spoil in the tank, since material cannot be stored on the right-of-way.
Neighbouring Dispatch Zones

Also Serving Near Vaughan

Scheduling This Week Rates Published in CAD

Get a Hydrovac Crew to Your Vaughan Site

Scheduled digs are booked during business hours, usually within days. Water main breaks, sewer backups and insurance claims get 24/7 dispatch.

Written workmanship warranty No hidden mobilization fees $5M liability, WSIB registered