Could I install a water borehole by myself?

Water boreholes access water from deep underground, extracting it from the soil and pumping it up to the surface for day-to-day use. They’re the perfect option for any property owner in need of a reliable and self-sufficient water supply.

Boreholes typically require installation by a specialist company – such as Teckna Group – but you may be wondering: is it possible to drill a water borehole by yourself?

The short answer to this question is: no! The water borehole drilling process presents a number of challenges that an unqualified person simply cannot resolve alone. Not only will these challenges have a direct impact on your ultimate success in accessing groundwater, but they can also result in highly dangerous drilling or digging practices.

Overcoming these challenges requires a combination of modern technology, expert knowledge, and intricate design that only qualified industry workers will have.

In this article, we’ll explain exactly why it’s a good idea to hire a professional drilling company rather than attempting a DIY borehole.

3 challenges of the water borehole drilling process

There are three primary challenges that would hinder any ‘DIY’ approach to borehole drilling.

1) Reaching a sufficient depth

In order to gather water effectively, a water borehole must reach down to about 200m below the surface. It’s virtually impossible to create a borehole using domestic DIY tools. Even if it were possible, the finished borehole would likely collapse over time.

Attempting to prevent this without the right tools is practically impossible. Trying to manually hold the hole open using random tools that haven’t been intentionally designed for the job would be potentially dangerous, not to mention incredibly inefficient. It really is one of those things where having the right tool for the job is a must.

We use heavy-duty drilling rigs at Teckna Group – which dig quickly, easily, and accurately until they reach the required depth. To add reinforcement, we then case the water borehole with high-quality stainless steel for a supportive and sanitary seal.

Drilling a borehole not only requires mobilising large and heavy equipment, but constructing and flushing water boreholes can also be a noisy and messy process. It’s best to leave it to the experts to keep disruption and damage to a minimum.

2) Successfully extracting groundwater

The main purpose of a borehole water system is to access and extract water from underground; however, due to the depth of the borehole, this in itself can be quite challenging. It requires a specialised water borehole pump as part of a professional drilling service. Figuring out which pump to use and how to integrate that pump into the water supply’s architecture can be quite difficult, and often requires leveraging extensive experience in order to take care of it properly.

You can’t just drop any old piece of piping down with a pump attached at one end and hope for the best – it’s a precisely managed process of determining how to get water up at the right flow rate, without overpumping or accidentally clogging your pump or pipes with detritus. Failing to do this in a controlled, efficient manner can result in broken parts, obstructed boreholes, and a whole lot of wasted money.

We offer such a service at Teckna Group, with a wide range of water borehole pumps to choose from. All of these are specially designed for installation deep underground. We also supply and install ancillary equipment (such as auto shut-off options and pressure vessels) and water tanks that can hold between 1,000 and 20,000 litres of water, should your operation require such additions.

Drilling a water borehole is a long process – even after a hydrogeological survey and up to 15 days of onsite construction work, any water drawn must be sent for laboratory testing to find out whether it’s safe to drink. Successfully extracting potable water, or filtering your borehole water to make it drinkable, can take at least 3-4 weeks in all.

You absolutely don’t want to skip any stage of this process. For a borehole to pay for itself, it will need to remain fully functional for a relatively long timeframe, and for things to work out this way, the water borehole drilling and extraction project needs to be managed and taken care of by a professional outfit. 

3) Extracted water may be non-potable

A water borehole takes water from deep underground, which may be non-potable. This means that it won’t be suitable for drinking without a thorough filtration system, which quickly adds even more expenses to your borehole installation.

You can still use non-potable water for things like watering gardens, washing cars, and flushing toilets. However, it’s not really worth the cost of drilling a borehole if you can’t consume the water from it, or even wash your dishes with it.

To avoid this problem, our team of experts will assess the geological properties of your site before starting the water borehole drilling process. This assessment will identify the best location for your water borehole, with relatively low chances of groundwater pollution.

To determine the exact approach that you’ll need to take to make the water potable, you’ll need to send samples to a lab to see what’s actually in it. Based on this information, we will be able to develop a filtration system that targets the precise impurities that are present in the water source, rendering it safe for future consumption. 

At Teckna Group, we also fit all of our water boreholes with an effective UV filtration system. This ultraviolet filter helps to eliminate bacteria in the borehole water, ensuring that it meets the national standards for clean and safe drinking water. Ongoing testing is still recommended, to ensure that the filtration system remains effective against any new or preexisting impurities that are present in the water source.

Don’t try a ‘DIY’ water borehole – contact Teckna Group

It may just seem like a hole in the ground, but the construction of a water borehole requires both industry expertise and sophisticated technology. If you would like a borehole water supply for your property, it’s definitely worth investing in a professional water borehole drilling service.

Trying to do this kind of project without any experience or the right kit would be a monumental waste of time at best, potentially dangerous at worst. There are plenty of providers who can help you out, and it’s well worth using their expertise. Failure to do so will simply result in a whole lot of wasted resources.

Teckna Group demonstrates a wealth of experience in this area, having completed numerous domestic and commercial projects. We can take care of every aspect of the water borehole drilling process for you, so why not get in touch today to find out more?

Either give us a call on 01257 421700 or send a message to enquiries@tecknagroup.co.uk and our team of water borehole installation experts will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also read through our FAQs below to find out more about drilling water boreholes.

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