Maintain
Strata maintenance programs
Common property drainage on a schedule council can budget for, scoped from measured condition and recorded year after year.
Maintain · Drainage services A bulk removal tool, and only that.
A vacuum truck lifts loose water and solids out of catch basin sumps, flooded pits and silted storm lines, and hauls the material away instead of pushing it further down the system. It is the right tool on strata sites and homes where a chamber has filled. It does not fix a collapsed pipe or cut roots.
Jobs that need a tank, not a pump
Pumps move water. Grit, leaves and silt mixed with water need suction, and suction works from the surface. A vacuum truck draws the mix up a hose into its debris tank and takes it away, without anyone climbing into the chamber. These are the jobs it suits.
- Catch basin sumps full to the outlet. The everyday job. The sump has filled, and debris is passing into the line. On the visit, the sump holds more built-up grit than can be lifted out by hand. How a basin is cleaned and recorded is covered under catch basin cleaning.
- A flooded sump or pit after a pump stops. Standing water with debris in it. Emptying it lets the pump, float and discharge be checked in a dry pit instead of guessed at. On the visit, the float sits under water and the pump runs without moving water, or does not run at all. More on sump pumps.
- Silted storm lines. Silt along a run can slow several basins on the same line. Jetting loosens it and the vacuum holds it, so the material comes out instead of moving to the next low point. On camera, sediment lies along the pipe floor.
- Sediment after construction or landscaping. Exposed ground washes fines into basins and lines, and everything downstream can slow at once. Bulk removal takes it out of the system before it travels further.
It is work for strata councils and property managers with parkade sumps, ramps and shared driveways, and for homeowners with a full sump or basin. Strata sites can book it on a schedule, alongside basin cleaning and sump checks, within a strata maintenance program.
When to call for a vacuum truck
- A sump, pit or basin full of water and debris after a pump failure.
- Several basins on the same run all draining slowly.
- Sediment washing into basins after construction or landscaping on or next to the property.
- Material that should not be washed into the storm system, such as grit from a parking area that may carry oil.
If water is coming in now, call or text (604) 210-3892.
The questions we ask before a truck is booked
A vacuum truck job turns on access: how far the hose has to run, and how deep the chamber goes. Before a truck is booked, we want to know:
- What needs emptying, and roughly how much.
- Where a truck can legally stand, and how far the hose has to run from there to the chamber.
- How deep the chamber is, if anyone knows.
- Overhead clearance and ramps on the way in. A loaded truck usually works from outside a parkade and runs hose in.
- Gates, bollards, curbs and landscaping between the truck and the lid.
- Who holds the keys to locked lids, and whether they will be on site.
- Whether jetting is part of the scope, which needs a water source.
- What drains into the chamber. Runoff from parking areas and roads can carry oil.
- Whether residents need notice because parking stalls will be blocked.
- Whether a camera look should come first, so the truck is not booked for a problem it cannot fix.
Tell us what is full and how far the hose has to go, and we can say whether a truck is the right tool.
Covered by our Built Better Warranty.
See details of the Built Better WarrantyWhere the material goes
The material leaves in the truck's tank, and nothing is left on site. Pushing it further down the line only moves the problem to the next low point, or to the next property.
That matters here. In the City of North Vancouver, the Stream and Drainage System Protection Bylaw prohibits pollutants such as oil, paint, sediment and concrete from entering the drainage system. Lifting the material out, rather than flushing it along the pipe, is the point of the job.
Working from the surface also keeps people out of the chamber. WorkSafeBC's confined space rules define a confined space by its features, such as restricted entry and exit and not being designed for continuous occupancy, not by its depth. A hose lowered from the surface means nobody has to go in.
Timing follows the rain. Sumps and basins are best emptied before the wet months. The City of Burnaby's drainage installation guide shows the drain tile and roof leader lines of a two-pipe layout meeting at a storm sump with an outlet to the storm sewer. That sump is one of the chambers a truck empties.
What a vacuum truck will not fix
-
A collapsed or bellied pipe.
Suction lifts what is loose. It cannot rebuild a caved-in section or bring a sag back into line. The line needs a camera inspection to show the fault, then a repair such as perimeter drainage repair or sewer line repair. -
Roots in a joint.
Roots anchored in the pipe wall will not come out under suction. They need cutting and jetting, then a camera check of the joint underneath. -
Clean water with nothing in it.
A pump is the right tool. A vacuum truck earns its place when there is sediment or debris to lift out.
Vacuum and jetting on the same visit
Jetting and suction do two halves of one job. A jetter cuts and moves material along the pipe; the vacuum takes it out of the system and away. On a silted storm line or a basin outlet, the jetter loosens what has settled and the hose catches it at the chamber, so it does not settle straight back in. For jetting on its own, see drain cleaning and hydro jetting.
At Drainage Pro, we scope the job and run the camera where the line needs a look first. The truck is the tool for the part that has to be lifted out.
Related services
Maintain
Annual drain camera inspections
Your drain runs filmed every year and set beside last year's footage, so slow change shows up while it is still a finding, not a failure.
Maintain
Catch basin cleaning
We empty the sump, check the outlet and record each basin, for houses and strata parking areas, ahead of the wet months.
Questions we get asked
Can a vacuum truck get into an underground parkade?
Usually not. Ramps and overhead clearance tend to keep a loaded truck outside, so it stands at street level and the hose runs in to the chamber. The distance from a legal standing spot to the chamber is the first thing to work out.
What if the blockage turns out to be a collapsed pipe?
Suction cannot fix a collapse; it only lifts what is loose. The line needs filming so you can see the fault, and the repair is then scoped from that footage rather than from a guess.
Is a vacuum truck worth it for plain water?
For clean water with no solids in it, a pump is usually the better tool. A vacuum truck earns its place when there is sediment, leaves or debris mixed in that a pump would choke on.
What does a vacuum truck do that hydro jetting does not?
Jetting cuts and moves material along the pipe. A vacuum truck takes it out of the system and hauls it away, which matters for heavily silted lines, full sumps, and material that should not be washed into the storm system.
Is every catch basin cleaned with a vacuum truck?
No. A small basin with light sediment can be cleaned by hand. A strata parking area or a parkade drain with built-up grit needs the volume and suction of a truck to clear it properly.
Reviewed
We find the cause before we quote the fix
Tell us the address and what you're seeing — a backup, a wet wall, a smell, a sinking lawn. We'll tell you what the next step is and what it costs, before anyone digs. Not sure yet? Ask us a question first.