10 Facts About Water Boreholes

A borehole can be described as any narrow or small bore vertical or horizontal shaft drilled in to the ground for the extraction of water, oil, gas or minerals.

Usually water extracted from a borehole is of good quality but should always be tested in a laboratory first to determine its suitability and safety. Sometimes groundwater can contain contaminants or minerals at higher levels than are safe for drinking or for commercial or process applications, and water treatment may be required. You should always have your borehole water regularly tested in a laboratory to ensure it is safe to use and drink … water testing

If you have a private supply from a water borehole, that doesn’t mean you can’t stay connected to the mains water supply. In fact, it’s usually best to stay connected and simply turn the mains supply off at the stopcock so that you can switch it on and off as required.

If you’re a large water user such as a business, then you can save considerable sums on your water bills by using a private supply or water borehole. Some large users of water, like dairy farms, manufacturing plants, power stations, and food and beverage producers, can find that the investment in a borehole supply pays for itself very quickly. Users in geographically remote locations might also find it’s more cost-effective to drill a borehole than pay for miles of water pipe to be laid to connect you to the mains.

It’s also possible to share water from a borehole between two or more properties. Getting together with your neighbours can cut the cost of drilling a borehole too.

Water boreholes can usually be drilled in as little as two or three days, depending on the type of rock you have to drill through. Once drilled, a properly constructed and well maintained water well can last for generations.

Specialist geological surveys are an excellent way of identifying where on your land water is most likely to be found, given the surrounding geology.

You don’t always need water storage tanks if you are drilling a borehole or water well. Whether you need a tank will depend on how much water you’re using and how much is available underground.

Booster pumps, filtration systems, disinfection and water treatment plant and can be added to your borehole extraction system if you struggle with low pressure, poor or fluctuating water quality, or higher than acceptable levels of contamination. If you’re using your borehole water to irrigate land rather than for drinking purposes, you may not need to add in filtration … water treatment

Once a water borehole has been drilled and set-up they can be very unobtrusive. The only visible aspect of a borehole well is usually a single manhole cover capping the mouth of the well and some pipework.