In fact, borehole drilling is a relatively simple procedure, notwithstanding the fairly complex technology that goes into it. With that being said, a borehole is a “simple” thing only if you follow the needed steps to successful completion. Drilling a borehole, much like building a car or smelting gold ore, is a specialised process – there are no alternatives to doing it right.
Borehole drilling might use known technologies that are commonplace around industrial yards and the like, but putting them all together in a drilling rig makes a machine for which there’s no substitute. The alternative to drilling a borehole is digging a well, and that idea lost favour around the time that mechanised drilling rigs and electric pumps became mainstream, notwithstanding the fact that in some rural areas of the world, digging a well remains the only low-tech option. Breaking the process of drilling a borehole down into elementary steps helps to illuminate exactly what’s involved:
- Water. Do you have any on your land (it’s highly likely you do) and how does it run down there, far beneath the soil? Where will you find water, and where therefore is it best to drill to access it? Like many aspects of borehole drilling, this is quite a specialised arena. Can you divine water? Some people can, although professional drillers will employ specialised sensory equipment and techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging to be sure that the spot they pick is going to be productive.
- Access. If you’d like a borehole in a suburban or another built-up setting, a route of access needs to be determined to allow the drilling rig to get into position and drill. While access isn’t usually a problem, it should definitely be a part of the planning, as no one wants to realise they’re thwarted on the day the rig arrives.
- Drilling, of course, demands specialised drilling rigs for the swiftest and cleanest drilling operations. A borehole drilling rig is a highly specialised item, and no other equipment can be employed as a substitute for a clean, clear, and unobtrusive shaft that leads to the water. This stands to reason, as a borehole drill has to power down through slate and rock layers while staying on the chosen trajectory, and while removing the debris generated as the drill bit goes deeper and deeper, piling up the excavated material around the hole, above the ground.
- Equipping a borehole is the final stage of drilling a borehole. Once the depth has been reached, water is flowing, and the decision is taken to call it at that level, the shaft needs to be fitted with a casing. Casing is steel tubing inserted into the first few metres of a borehole (where the ground is softest) to prevent the hole from decaying or falling in. After casing, of course, you’ll need to drop some power cable and pipe attached to a suitable submersible pump down the hole, which is also known as equipping the hole. When this is done, you’re ready to drink water!
An Overwhelming Majority of South Africans Can Find Groundwater
Some unfortunate souls occupy land where groundwater is almost non-existent, but they are very few and far between. Most South Africans can access groundwater on their land as, for all of its sometimes-arid nature, South Africa has a fortune of water running below ground! The depth might vary (at which you’ll find water) and the volume certainly will, as there are areas in the country that give large amounts of groundwater per hour, while others give far less.
Either way, there are very few incidents where a professional borehole drilling contractor like Inyati Drilling can’t assist a homeowner to get off the fluoride-laden municipal water grid and access their own fresh and clean groundwater. It’s no overstatement to say that most of our retail clients are motivated to establish their own borehole because of their distaste (all puns intended) for municipal water’s chemical flavour, as well as the ever-rising cost of piped water in suburban South Africa.
Inyati is Quick and Clean Borehole Drilling at Its Best
The best borehole drilling operations are well planned, executed promptly, and leave the minimum of mess behind, which is why Inyati Drilling has become such a prominent name in the fraternity over the years. We’re active in blast hole drilling, exploration drilling, and borehole drilling, and we have a long list of happy clients whose lives we’ve enabled with professionally executed projects.
Call on Inyati when you need a borehole done right, done quickly, and done with a smile!