A hydrovac is a piece of equipment that uses high-pressure water to cut and liquefy the soil, while simultaneously using high volume vacuum to remove the soil from the excavation. Both fresh water and soil from the excavation are contained in the typically truck mounted unit. The technology allows for quick and precise excavations which require less backfill, less labor and causes significantly less environmental impact than conventional drilling excavating methods. Hydrovacs are commonly used for daylighting (the practice of digging to expose and locate underground utilities), soil trenching (digging narrow trenches to install cables, pipelines and other in-ground utilities), piling  pothole excavation (digging holes of various diameters and depths to lay all types of pilings), debris removal and cold-weather digging.