The Unimog in Water Management

Where the ground can no longer support ordinary machines

Maintaining waterways, ditches, dykes and riverbanks presents a specific challenge: the ground is often waterlogged, access is narrow or unpaved, and conventional machines risk getting stuck before they even reach the work area. The Unimog, with its portal axles, permanent four-wheel drive and reduced ground pressure, operates in these conditions without damaging embankments or wetlands.

It is this access capability, combined with a powerful 250 l/min hydraulic output, that has made the Unimog the reference tool for waterway managers, river authorities and drainage contractors for decades.

Aquatic weed cutting and bank maintenance

Invasive aquatic plants can block a ditch or canal in a single growing season. The Unimog fitted with a cutting basket or a crane with a cutting head reaches from the bank areas that boats cannot always access. The cut is precise, waste is collected directly on the machine, and the Unimog then moves on its own axis to treat the next section.

For sloped banks, the articulated mowing arm works on gradients that no standard agricultural tractor could safely handle.

Pumping during floods and high water

The water pump mounted on the Unimog can discharge up to 5,000 litres per minute. During a flood event, this capacity enables rapid intervention at critical points: pumping out basements, protecting inhabited areas, maintaining levels in drainage systems. The integrated winch also allows objects or equipment swept away by floodwaters to be recovered.

Dyke and hydraulic infrastructure maintenance

Flood protection dykes require regular maintenance to preserve their integrity: mowing embankment slopes, inspecting subsidence points, spreading reinforcement materials. The Unimog carries out all these operations with a single vehicle. The spreader distributes gravel or clay over weakened areas while the articulated mowing arm keeps vegetation at the height required for visual inspection of the dyke.

For drainage networks, the vacuum truck handles sludge and solid matter with an efficiency that manual jetting or standard tankers cannot match on difficult terrain.