Analysis · owners
Boreholes: what South African owners actually paid
Drillers quote ranges; owners write what they paid, what went wrong and what the borehole saved. We collected every concrete price from South Africa's biggest tech and home forum.
By Borehole Payback · updated 24 October 2026
Will a borehole pay for itself?
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Garden water from each metro's average 2021–2025 weather; 2026/27 water and sewage tariffs incl. VAT; pump electricity at R3.50 per kWh. Drilling at R1 000 per metre incl. casing.
What our numbers show
Our reading of 656 posts in 11 MyBroadband threads, 2016–2025
- Owners reported drilling prices from R500 to R1 375 per metre, with R1 000 in the middle, often including casing. Two quotes for an 80 m hole differed by a factor of almost three.
- The pump, tank and filtration add a lot: one Gauteng owner paid about R55 000 for 50–60 m of drilling, then R30 000 for the pump and R27 000 for filtration against iron and sulphur.
- Wellpoints in Cape Town's sands cost a fraction: owners reported R5 000 to R15 000 with the pump. One metered wellpoint supplied 243 kl in a year and saved R22 000 at the drought-era tariffs; at 2026/27 tariffs the same water costs about R20 675.
- The advice that recurs: you pay for a dry hole, drillers want payment up front, and a yield test should come before you choose the pump.
| 2018, 72 m | R1 200 / m | |
| 2021 | R630 / m | |
| 2023, 55 m | R1 000 / m | |
| 2023, 80 m | R1 375 / m | |
| 2023, 80 m | R500 / m | |
| 2024, 120 m | R1 000 / m |
Each line is one owner's price or quote, as written; casing included where the owner said so.
Drilling prices, one by one
| Year | Depth | Price | Per metre | What the owner wrote | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 72 m | R86 400 | R1 200 | paid | Water only at 72 m, R1 200 per metre |
| 2021 | – | – | R630 | paid | About R630 per metre, three years before the post |
| 2023 | 55 m | R55 000 | R1 000 | paid | 50–60 m with casing; pump about R30 000 and filtration R27 000 extra |
| 2023 | 80 m | R110 000 | R1 375 | quote | Quote for an 80 m borehole |
| 2023 | 80 m | R40 000 | R500 | quote | Another owner's price for 80 m |
| 2024 | 120 m | R120 000 | R1 000 | quote | 120 m, half lined with steel casing, before pump, diesel and VAT |
| 2024 | 40 m | R85 000 | – | paid | Neighbour's 40 m borehole with everything, tank included |
"paid" or "quote" as the owner described it. Prices are as written in the post and not adjusted for inflation.
What owners learnt
- Test the yield first. The pump should be chosen after a yield test, not before drilling; several owners found their pump too weak or the hole too slow.
- Iron and sulphur. Gauteng owners report water that stains and smells; filtration can cost as much as the pump.
- Wellpoints run dry late in summer. A Cape Town owner runs the pump 10 to 20 minutes an hour into a tank as the water table drops.
- Register it. Tshwane has asked borehole users to put up notices, and Cape Town inspectors can fine owners without the City's sign; see borehole rules.
This week
Metro of the week: eThekwini (Durban)
A household in eThekwini (Durban) using 30 kl of municipal water a month pays about R2 253 a month for water and sewage under the 2026/27 tariffs. A 60 m borehole watering a 250 m² garden would save about R4 769 a year after pump electricity and upkeep, and pay back in 19.8 years.