Water Truck

A water truck is a tanker that sprays controlled amounts of water onto dirt being compacted, onto haul roads to keep dust down, and onto disturbed slopes for short-term erosion control before vegetation establishes. Capacity varies, residential and small-site work uses 2,000 to 4,000 gallon trucks; large mass-grading operations use 6,000+.

Moisture content matters for compaction. Most soils have a narrow optimum moisture range where they compact best, too dry and the particles slide past each other instead of locking together, too wet and they squelch instead of compacting. A water truck lets the crew add controlled moisture to dry fill.

Dust control is the other big use, especially in dry East Texas summers. A site that's kicking up dust into a neighborhood is both a complaint problem and a regulatory problem under SWPPP rules in some jurisdictions.