Water Boreholes - A general overview

South Coast Water can provide you with a complete service from project design to completion. Once the preliminary geological survey has been completed, along with the dowsing aspect to determine the most likely position for the bore, drilling may commence.

Your water bore hole will be drilled to an appropriate depth to find sustainable water. The results of the water geological survey will give us an indication of the most likely depth to drill to.

Your dowser's report will also help to calculate this depth.
Once the bore is drilled and lined, a special pump will be inserted near the bottom to determine the rate at which your bore is filling. This will of course give you the maximum amount of water which may be drawn at any one time. This is known as the sustainability of the bore.

The drilling of your borehole and its location on your property is a decision you will make only after assessing the results of some specialist geological survey. The British Geological Survey is probably the best choice for UK enquiries. This prognosis will usually say what ground conditions may be encountered, the depth of each layer and if any are likely to contain water. It may also determine whether the water is under pressure, its chemical composition - might it be potable (Drinking Water), contain excessive hardness or sulphates - and the most suitable depth at which to find an acceptable water supply.

Your new private water supply may be used for any purpose from simple irrigation for a garden or smallholding, to complete system to provide all the water requirements for a home - or even a new housing estate.
Water suitable for drinking, known as 'potable water,' may be achieved by various filtration processes discussed elsewhere on this website. Generally, most water may be filtered and treated economically to meet potable water standards. Similarly, your private water supply may be used for any farming situation.

Water Bore hole Lining

After your borehole has been drilled, it will be lined with a special permeable liner.This stabilises the bore hole and prevents potential collapse of its walls, whilst at the same time, allowing water to enter into the bore via water penetration slits. The free space between the outside of the liner and the bore itself is then sometimes backfilled with gravel as shown in this diagram.