Borehole Drilling in South Africa

Borehole Drilling is the first step to your own groundwater supply: a rig drills down to water-bearing rock, the hole is cased where needed and the borehole is developed so it is ready for a pump. It suits homeowners, smallholdings, farms, schools and businesses that want water independent of the municipal supply.

• Say what the water is for: household backup, garden, livestock or business use.
• Give your town or suburb and describe rig access to the drilling spot.
• Say whether you want drilling only or a complete drilled-and-equipped borehole.

What a Drilling Quote Covers

Usually included

• Moving the rig to site and setting up.
• Drilling at an agreed rate per metre, usually 165 mm diameter for domestic holes.
• Casing through soft or broken ground near the surface.
• Development by air-lifting until the water runs clear.
• A borehole cap and basic completion record: depth, water strike, casing length.

Usually extra or excluded

• A geophysical siting survey.
• Extra casing, steel casing or screens beyond the quoted metres.
• Yield testing and water quality testing.
• Pump, cabling, controls, tanks and plumbing.
• Cleaning up drill spoil, repairing paving or lawns, and municipal application fees.

Ground Conditions and Drilling Methods

• Hard rock. Most domestic boreholes are drilled by rotary air percussion into fractured granite, sandstone or quartzite.
• Soft or collapsing ground. Sand, clay and weathered rock need casing driven or installed as the hole advances.
• Dolomite. Parts of Gauteng and the North West sit on dolomite, where sinkhole risk means some municipalities ask for a stability assessment before drilling.
• Coastal sands. Shallow water may suit a wellpoint instead of a drilled borehole.

Casing and Completion

• PVC casing is common for domestic boreholes. Steel casing is used through unstable ground and at the collar.
• Slotted casing or screens let water in while holding back sand.
• A sanitary seal at the top keeps surface water and contamination out.
• The completion record should state final depth, water strikes, casing type and length, and rest water level. Keep it for pump sizing and future repairs.

Permissions Before You Drill

Three separate things can apply, and they are often confused:

• National water use. Reasonable domestic use, watering a small non-commercial garden and watering livestock within normal grazing limits fall under Schedule 1 of the National Water Act. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) says Schedule 1 use does not need registration. Use beyond Schedule 1 falls under a general authorisation or a licence, and may need registering, depending on volume and catchment.
• Municipal by-laws. Some municipalities have their own rules. The City of Cape Town asks you to apply at least 14 days before sinking a borehole or wellpoint and to register it. The City of Johannesburg requires an application and a drilling certificate before drilling starts. Check with your municipality.
• Proposed groundwater regulations. DWS published draft Regulations for the Protection and Management of Groundwater Resources for comment in December 2025. They are proposals, not law, until finalised.

Ask the contractor what they will handle and what you must apply for yourself. Selling borehole water needs DWS permission.

The Drilling Process

1. Site visit. The driller checks rig access, slopes, overhead cables, septic tanks and buried services.
2. Siting. A position is chosen from local borehole records, geology or a borehole survey.
3. Drilling. The rig drills, logs water strikes and installs casing. Most domestic holes take one to two days.
4. Development. The hole is blown clean with compressed air and a rough airlift yield is noted.
5. Testing. A yield test sets the safe pumping rate, and a water test shows what the water is suitable for.
6. Equipping. The hole is fitted with a pump and controls through borehole equipping.

Borehole Drilling Prices

For depth-based budgets and every add-on, see borehole drilling prices.

What Affects Borehole Drilling Quotes

• Depth to a reliable water strike.
• Hardness of the rock and how much casing the ground needs.
• Distance to site and rig access.
• Hole diameter for larger pumps.
• Whether testing, pump and storage are in the same price.

Questions to Ask Borehole Drillers

• What is the rate per metre, and what is the maximum depth before you stop and consult me?
• How many metres of casing are included, and what type?
• What do I pay if the hole is dry or the yield is too low to use?
• Is a yield test included, and how long does it run?
• Will I get a written completion record?
• Who handles municipal applications, and are you registered with any industry body?

Compare borehole drilling contractors through Borehole Installation South Africa, or go straight to related work below.

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