Drilling a New Borehole in Zimbabwe - Read This Borehole Drilling Guide!

Water Systems Zimbabwe is looking forward to your call or WhatsApp Message.

Please feel free to leave a message on our WhatApp number or alternatively please call us and we will be able to help you straight away. If you would prefer, send us an email with your details and an outline of your enquiry and we will be pleased to come back to you.

We respond to all enquiries usually within 24 hours, but guarantee within 48 hours.

Our Contact Numbers Are:
Water Systems Sales: +263 77 389 8979.
Water Systems Sales: +263 71 918 7878.
Solar Systems Sales: +263 78 922 2847.
Solar Systems Sales: +263 78 293 3586.

A guide for private Borehole owners in Zimbabwe on proper Borehole location, Casing and Construction.

1. Selecting Your Borehole Location: If you are building a new home or drilling a new borehole, determining the proper location for the borehole is an important decision that can protect the health of you and your family. 

Drilling a New Borehole in Zimbabwe - Read This Borehole Drilling Guide!

It is important that you understand the topography of your property, the direction of your groundwater flow, and that you have identified all potential pollution risks in the surrounding area.

• Boreholes should be at least 8 metres from a silo.
• Boreholes should be located at least 15 metres from sewers and septic tanks.
• Boreholes should be at least 30 metres from pastures, on-lot sewage system absorption fields, cesspools and barnyards.
• Avoid locating a borehole where groundwater comes to within 3 metres of the soil surface.

2. Selecting a Borehole Drilling Company: To ensure that your borehole will be located and constructed properly, it is critical that you exercise caution when hiring a borehole driller.

Use the following criteria to help you find a driller that is right for you.

• Check to see that the contractor has adequate equipment.
• Use a contractor that submits borehole logs and will supply you with a written contract.

What You Need in a Contract

• Assurance of compliance with regulations.
• Liability insurance information for the driller.
• Casing specifications (140 mm minimum to bedrock.)
• Sanitary borehole cap and grout seal included.
• Borehole development to maximum yield.
• Disinfection after drilling and pump installation
• Itemized cost estimate.
• Estimate of Borehole yield.
• Delivery of Borehole logs and pump test results.

3. Borehole Construction: Poor water quality is often a direct result of an improperly constructed borehole. For the health of your family, it is important to take the necessary steps to ensure that your borehole is constructed properly from the start so that you do not encounter any water quality problems in the future.

• Borehole Casings should be at least 20 centimetres above the ground or high enough that surface water will never enter the Borehole (even in times of flood).
• The ground should slope away from the Borehole to prevent surface water from ponding.
• A pitless adapter should be used where the water pipe passes through the Borehole casing below the frost depth.
• A sanitary Borehole cap should be used at the top of the casing to prevent insects, small mammals, or other surface contaminants from entering the Borehole.
• To prevent surface water contamination, the space between the Borehole casing and the drill hole should be filled with a clay grout or cement.

Before the Borehole construction is complete, make sure to receive a water yield and disinfect the system using shock chlorination. Get a copy of the completion report from the borehole driller and keep it as the start of your home borehole record.

4. Before Buying a New Home: Typically, when buying an existing house, the last thing one thinks about is where the water supply comes from. However, for the safety of your family, it is very important to learn about the resources surrounding that home. 

When buying a home in a rural area, there may be more challenges when trying to determine potential threats to the water supply. Water quantity and quality are both issues to research before purchasing a home in the country. If you buy a home in a rural community that relies on borehole water, find out how old the borehole is, what type of borehole it is, where it is located, if it is properly sealed, and determine all potential contaminants to that borehole. For added protection, it is also important to make sure the means of disposing of wastewater is safe.

Regardless of where you are looking to purchase a home, knowledge of past land-use practices and locating the water supply and septic system is critical for making a good decision for the health of your family.

Source Water Protection Starts at Home: Many people in Zimbabwe get their water from a private water system (Boreholes, Springs, or Cisterns). Families on private water supplies, need to be aware of changing water quality issues and the best methods to protect their water supply. Preventing contaminated water supplies is much easier and cheaper than dealing with a water quality problem after the fact.

Drilling a New Borehole in Zimbabwe - Read This Borehole Drilling Guide!

Unlike public drinking water systems, homeowners with private boreholes do not have assistance with the management of their water supply (Including routine maintenance, water testing, and solving water quality and quantity problems). 

All private water system owners need to take the time to make sure everything is working correctly and ensure that their water is always healthy to drink.

Water Systems Zimbabwe is looking forward to your call or WhatsApp Message.

Please feel free to leave a message on our WhatApp number or alternatively please call us and we will be able to help you straight away. If you would prefer, send us an email with your details and an outline of your enquiry and we will be pleased to come back to you.

We respond to all enquiries usually within 24 hours, but guarantee within 48 hours.

Our Contact Numbers Are:
Water Systems Sales: +263 77 389 8979.
Water Systems Sales: +263 71 918 7878.
Solar Systems Sales: +263 78 922 2847.
Solar Systems Sales: +263 78 293 3586.