If you’re responsible for road and infrastructure maintenance, you know that the problems impacted culverts create.  
 
In the short term, blocked culverts lead to ponding, flooding and ice buildup, with the accompanying safety and maintenance concerns. In the longer term, culvert blockages that aren’t addressed effectively can contribute to roadway and shoulder erosion, often with drawn-out road downtime, costly and time-intensive repairs, blown-out Department of Transportation budgets and, in the worst cases, culvert and road collapse. 
 
Engineers do their best to limit the likelihood and frequency of impacted culverts, and road and highway departments do what they can to stay ahead. But culverts still get blocked, regularly and sometimes completely. So Stormwater Management Departments have to maintain a dependable, efficient, cost-effective schedule of culvert cleaning and culvert maintenance.  

Why is it So Difficult to Keep Culverts Clear? 

In theory, if we know the common causes of blocked culverts, we can account for and avoid them. In practice, it’s too unpredictable. Culverts don’t get blocked because of human activity, or weather, or nature, or engineering issues. It's all of those, and usually several at a time. 
 
Culvert cleaning stays on the schedule at every department of transportation and public works agency across the United States primarily because of these: 
 
— Sediment Accumulation 
Over time, tiny particles can become major blockages. Sediment accumulation is gradual, generally starting with soil erosion upstream. There might be agricultural or construction sites contributing to increased erosion, or it might be the result of natural processes. Whatever the cause, erosion gradually increases the sediment load in waterways, and that gets carried into road culverts, where it accumulates. 
 
— Debris Buildup 
Plants, trees, animals, people — we all feed debris buildup. Leaves, branches and other kinds of organic matter collect at culvert entrances, especially as we move through fall. People drop trash on and near roadsides, and that washes into waterways before it collects in culverts. Beavers block up areas near (or in) culverts with sticks, mud and rocks that can completely close off the flow of water through a culvert.  

— Structural Issues 
If initial estimates were inaccurate or circumstances aren’t as expected, the culvert itself might be sized improperly. Undersized culverts lead to high water velocity that causes more erosion. Culverts that are too large for normal flow conditions lead to more sediment deposits during low-flow periods. Culverts with insufficient slope don't keep up enough water velocity to maintain the suspension of sediments. Poorly aligned culverts create eddies that let sediment build up.  
 
Culverts deteriorate over time, too. Corrosion, seam separation, buckling — a long list of age-related issues can impede water flow and lead culverts to trap sediment and debris more easily. 
 
— Seasonal Fluctuations  
If you're in a four-season climate, every season brings its own weather-related contributions to your culvert cleaning schedule. 
 
In winter, ice buildup can reduce capacity and trap debris, leading to blockage. Spring starts, and melting snow and increased rainfall delivers higher water volume and velocity, carrying more sediment and debris into clogged culverts. Combine weeks of dry summer weather with a heavy thunderstorm and culverts get overwhelmed with debris and sediment. Then fall comes, with its steady flow of culvert-clogging vegetative debris.  

Common Culvert Cleaning Solutions: Pros And Cons 

To keep up with culvert maintenance, stormwater management departments focus on finding the best way to clean culverts efficiently, cost-effectively and safely. 

Some of the most common culvert cleaning methods: 

• Manual cleaning with small power tools or hand tools for minor blockages.
• Jet trucks, which loosen and flush out sediment and some debris with high-powered water jets.
• Vacuum trucks and other specialized trucks, usually equipped with jetting and vacuum capabilities.

All offer varying degrees of effectiveness and each comes with its own drawbacks. 
 
Manual cleaning (and some mechanical methods) can create safety concerns for operators, especially when they’re working in confined spaces. 
 
High-pressure water jetting requires a large team of operators and thousands of gallons of water to get the job done. That adds up to a high cost per hour and higher likelihood of damage to the surrounding area. Despite the high cost, high pressure and high volume of waste water, jetting tends to fail when it comes to thick vegetation and stringy debris — a common and stubborn contributor to clogged culverts. 

We Built a Better Way to Clear Impacted Culverts 

For over 60 years, Good Earth Tools has specialized in solving performance and production problems for all kinds of industrial applications. Between our core brand and sister brands, our product line is wildly varied. But everything we design, engineer and manufacture answers the same question: Can we deliver a solution that works better, cuts replacement costs and minimizes downtime? 

Our culvert cleaning system succeeds on all three fronts. Here’s why the Good Earth Tools Culvert Cleaner succeeds where other culvert cleaning methods lag: 

• We use a mechanical auger — a high-torque, low-speed system that churns through stringy vegetation, beaver dams and other impacted debris without water or vacuuming and without risking damage to the surrounding area.
• The GET Culvert Cleaner fits almost any backhoe or mini excavator with auxiliary hydraulics, and can handle culverts of nearly any size — out to 60 feet in length and up to 36 inches in diameter.
• It's easy to use and easy to move, with no need for trailering.
• With carbide-protected bits and a sealed drive system, our culvert cleaners easily stand up to heavy use and underwater environments.
• In most cases, you’ll only need two operators, a Good Earth Tools Culvert Cleaner and 20 minutes to get water flowing through a clogged culvert. In under an hour, the impacted culvert can be completely clear.

 That efficiency adds up to less road downtime, less risk and less impact on a department's budget. 

Watch our Culvert Cleaner Work

Seeing Good Earth Tools’ Culvert Cleaner in action makes the possibilities clear. Press play here — you’ll see how our mechanical auger churns through a completely impacted culvert. 

It’s cleaner, faster, easier and gentler on the surroundings. And your department will be able to clean more culverts in a day with a smaller team, no Sewer Jet Truck needed. 
 
Interested in seeing how our culvert cleaner can help you cut costs and simplify culvert maintenance in the communities you serve? Contact the Good Earth Tools team.