The Ultimate Guide To Borehole Drilling and Prices in Zimbabwe!

‘What is Borehole Drilling?’ is probably the first question you would like answered. Borehole drilling is exactly what it sounds like: it’s the process of creating a narrow, deep hole in the ground. 

Boreholes can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from science and engineering to enterprises and individuals.

Borehole drilling or well drilling is most commonly utilized to offer a clean water source or ground source heating for both residential and commercial properties, but boreholes are also employed in construction, environmental investigations, and other purposes.

Furthermore, the desire for alternate water sources has been fueled by the drying up of dams, rising municipal water rates, and water shortages in most of Zimbabwe’s urban centres. Short-term options include buying water in bulk from bulk water suppliers, walking a short or long distance to wait at public boreholes set up by local municipal authorities, or harvesting rainwater during the rainy season. 

However, none of these alternatives offers the same convenience, savings, or long-term investment benefit as drilling a borehole in your own yard. 

This Article Describes Borehole Drilling in Zimbabwe and How It Can Be Calculated.

Borehole Drilling in Zimbabwe in Simple Steps:

What are your options if you wish to drill a water borehole? For some, the intention to buy a residential water borehole is simple; for others, the entire process is terrifying.

Here is a tutorial to better enable water borehole drilling or wellbore drilling so that you can overcome your fear of it and help our country save water by deciding to install your home water borehole this summer. So, what are the steps involved in digging a borehole or a well? We’ll go over everything in detail below.

Step 1: Locating The Borehole (Borehole Siting)
The first step is to determine the location of the water and how we will get there. That is why hydro-geologists are hired to examine the geophysical features of the underlying area using a range of borehole drilling procedures. They’ll make certain that drilling doesn’t result in natural disasters or damage to man-made infrastructure (cables, pipelines, phone lines, etc).

Step 2: Drilling and Construction
After the hydro-geologists have assisted us in preparing a path for borehole drilling, we proceed to drill the borehole.
The Ultimate Guide To Borehole Drilling and Prices in Zimbabwe!
The Ultimate Guide To Borehole Drilling and Prices in Zimbabwe!
Alas, it’s not as simple as Moses and the rock. Despite popular belief, water doesn’t flow unendingly to the surface immediately after drilling a borehole or drilling a well; there are still various steps to complete.

After the borehole has been excavated, the unstable sections are steel-cased to strengthen the tube.

Step 3: Assessing the Borehole’s Yield
An aquifer test is used to determine the yield of a household water borehole with the greatest accuracy. These steps include establishing a test pump, pumping borehole water for a specified period at a given price, and evaluating the water level’s impact on the test.

Increased abstraction rates ensure optimal water decline in the borehole, resulting in maximum yield.

Step 4: Cleaning The Borehole
Your borehole will be a filthy mess at this stage, littered with drilling detritus including caked mud, foul water, and oil from the drilling rig. All of these can be eliminated throughout the cleaning process, which your contractor will undertake in one of several ways. After the borehole has been cleaned, a sanitary seal is applied to prevent additional contamination of the water supply. This procedure is crucial because it assures the borehole’s smooth operation and water purity.

Step 5: Pumping and Plumbing the Borehole
Your new home water borehole’s pumping system and pipework will be primarily determined by the borehole’s intended purpose.

How Is The Price of Borehole Drilling Calculated?

A multitude of factors, methods, and components influence the cost of digging a water borehole. Because no two boreholes are identical, it’s preferable to estimate the typical cost of a borehole. Your calculations will be more accurate if you dig additional boreholes. Remember that each borehole is distinct since the factors that influence the components and techniques employed are virtually always different. This is why the cost of borehole drilling is more than just a number on a piece of paper; it’s a carefully calculated formula that’s influenced by the conditions.

The Following Are The Most Significant Determinants of Borehole Drilling Costs In Zimbabwe:
  • The type of soil or ground.
  • The borehole’s depth.
  • The borehole’s purpose.
  • Equipment, personnel, and materials.

The type of soil or ground and geology of the location where you wish to drill a borehole will have the greatest impact on the drilling costs. Whether you’re dealing with rock, sand, or clay, having an experienced drilling professional complete the geological research of the site right is critical.

The depth of the borehole will also be crucial because groundwater flows differently in different places.

This can be discovered through the geological prospector’s investigation; therefore experience is essential in order to obtain the most precise estimates available.

Why Is It Necessary To Drill A Borehole in Zimbabwe?
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for boreholes. This will have a bearing on the needed water quality as well as the borehole drilling procedures. All of these factors will be determined by the materials, machinery, and labour required to drill the borehole.

Materials will include the borehole’s physical construction, machinery will be the actual drill, and manpower will be the number of workers required to dig a single borehole.

Which Borehole Drilling Process and Method Must Be Used:

The elements listed above, as well as the drilling professionals’ geology experience, will determine how a borehole is drilled.
The Ultimate Guide To Borehole Drilling and Prices in Zimbabwe!
The Ultimate Guide To Borehole Drilling and Prices in Zimbabwe!

Geology study on the site can be quite costly if the operator is inexperienced, as it can lead to blunders, waste of supplies, and take a long time.

It’s also crucial to consider the borehole’s function. Different procedures, materials, and labour will be required for each type of borehole, for example drilling many types of boreholes such as those for a bottling factory, a commercial site, a residential site, etc.

Another factor to consider when considering the cost of a borehole is the amount of water required and the length of time the borehole will be used.

Some boreholes are only good for a few years, while others are good for decades.
The basic components for calculating borehole installation cost:

The Basic Components for Borehole Installation Cost Calculation is as follows:


1. Borehole Location Selection: This entails determining the ideal place for drilling a borehole that will provide the best performance and water quality at the lowest cost.

2. Mobilization and Demobilization: Machinery, equipment, and materials must be transported to the job site in order to be installed. This is the expense of transporting borehole drilling equipment and machinery to and from the job location.

3. Borehole Drilling Cost per Metre: As previously said, the depth of each borehole will vary depending on a variety of circumstances. The cost of digging a borehole is normally determined on a per-meter basis. As a result, the depth and kind of ground will have the greatest impact on the cost per meter.

4. Borehole Casing and Completion Costs: After the borehole has been bored, the casing and completion operations must be completed. Materials such as a solid casing, screen, gravel pack, sanitary seal, and wellhead can all be included in this pricing.

5. Borehole Development, Pump Test, and Borehole Water Quality Testing: The following step is well development, pump test, and borehole water quality testing. This will affect the borehole’s performance (how much water is accessible) as well as the water’s quality.

6. Platform and Pump:
Once everything has been completed, the borehole will require the installation of a platform and pumps in order to be used. It is dependent on the intended use.

Now that you have a better understanding of how to calculate the cost of a borehole, and are looking for a new borehole drilling service in Zimbabwe, contact Borehole Experts Zimbabwe, a ZINWA (Zimbabwe National Water Authority) licensed company that provides a forward-thinking approach, exceptional precision, and service to borehole drilling, installation, and maintenance with a presence across Zimbabwe.


For All Your Borehole Drilling Services Contact Us:


Five Facts About Borehole Drilling That You Need To Take Note Of:

1. Know Your Borehole Casings:The Preferred Borehole Casing In Zimbabwe Is Class 9 and 10 (Pressure Classes.)This is because Class 9 and Class 10 Casings are more collapse resistant. The strength of a Casing is often described as collapse resistance.

2. Borehole Drilling Depth: The exact depth, of where the water is located, cannot be established by the drilling contractor nor the Water Surveyor (Borehole Siter).

3. The Is No 100% Guarantee On Water: It is important to note that it is never a 100% guarantee that any hole will yield water, the amount and water quality can also not be guaranteed by the drilling contractor and water surveyor.

4. Borehole Siting or Water Surveying Is Important: Making use of a hydrologist or traditional water diviner will increase your chances of having a successful borehole that will yield a sufficient amount of water.

5. Know The Risks: The risk of the borehole drilling lies with the property owner. The client will still be liable for the drilling costs irrespective of a borehole yielding water or not.

The Cost or Prices For Borehole Drilling in Zimbabwe:


1. Siting: $100.00USD
2. Drilling and Casing: (40 Metres) $1300.00USD - (Using Class 6)
3. AC Electrical Installation: $1000.00USD
4. Solar Pump Installation: $1400.00USD
5. Extra Metres After 40 Metres: USD $45.00USD per metre.
6. 5000 Litre Tank and 4 metre Tank Stand: $1000.00USD
7. Stuck Pump Fishing Out: $180.00USD
8. Capacity Testing: $250.00USD

- Casing with Class 9 Casing incurs an additional $200.00USD.
- Double Casing: $20.00USD per metre.

Note this is the average price borehole companies charge for their services in Zimbabwe, but this figure is subject to changes if conditions are different depending on the construction site.

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If you have further questions, contact our friendly team today they will be more than happy to assist.

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