Borehole Drilling in Gqeberha
What we could source about borehole drilling in Gqeberha: geology, typical depths, price guidance, permit rules and the drilling companies listed there from public information. It is a guide, not advice for your plot.
Last reviewed . Prices and depths are indications from the sources listed at the foot of the page.
Borehole drilling prices in Gqeberha
Indicative project price
R42,000 to R100,000
R310 to R560 per metre. From one price guide, which lists the city as Port Elizabeth. We found no other published price source.
Typical drilling depth
30 to 100 m
From one price guide, which lists the city as Port Elizabeth. Your driller sets the depth from the survey.
Water level
No published figure
We found no published per-city figure. The DWS National Groundwater Archive holds borehole water-level records (free registration on the DWS website), but we have not extracted city figures. Depth to water varies within a single suburb, so ask for the survey's expected water level. In the Uitenhage Artesian Basin the Table Mountain Group aquifer is confined and artesian to sub-artesian in places, so water behaves differently there from an ordinary depth-to-water picture.
Listed companies
6
From public information, none verified by us.
Depths and water levels here are indicative ranges from regional geology and published guides, not predictions for your plot. They vary widely within a suburb and with season and pumping. Only a site survey and the driller's log can tell you what your plot will give, and a borehole can be dry.
Prices come from published price guides, not from quotes. The main guide does not say whether its per-metre rates include casing, VAT or mobilisation, and a fully equipped system (pump, tank and installation) costs more than a drilled and cased hole. Ask for written quotes that say what is included.
Borehole drilling companies in Gqeberha (6)
These companies come from public Google business listings and company websites that we checked. We have not inspected, verified or endorsed any of them, and a listing says nothing about their registration, insurance or workmanship. Check the company yourself before you hire. Ratings are Google ratings, early 2026, and the list is sorted by rating weighted by number of reviews.
Our listings data files this city as Port Elizabeth, so the companies below are listed under that name.
MG Drilling
5th Ave, Summerstrand, Gqeberha, 6070, South Africa
3.9 out of 5
8 reviews
Google rating, early 2026
EC Borehole Services (PTY) LTD
5 Wykeham Ave, Cotswold, Gqeberha, 6055, South Africa
4.2 out of 5
5 reviews
Google rating, early 2026
Steyns Drilling
Portion 56 Farm, Little Chelsea, 10 Seaview Rd, Lovemore Park, Gqeberha, 6001, South Africa
4 out of 5
4 reviews
Google rating, early 2026
JC BOREHOLES
94 Draaifontein Rd, Uitenhage Farms, Gqeberha, 6018, South Africa
3.3 out of 5
3 reviews
Google rating, early 2026
Drilling Africa Borehole Drilling
1, Struandale, Gqeberha, 5215, South Africa
No Google rating
Bay Boreholes
77 Cawood St, North End, Gqeberha, 6001, South Africa
No Google rating
Geology and drilling conditions in Gqeberha
Around Gqeberha and Uitenhage (now Kariega) the best-known aquifer is the Uitenhage Artesian Basin: fractured Table Mountain Group sandstone confined under Cretaceous siltstone and mudstone. A 2001 paper says borehole yields in that basin commonly range from 5 to 10 L/s and the groundwater has low salinity but is acidic and corrosive, and that a control area was declared over the central and eastern part of the basin in 1957 to limit abstraction. Away from the basin, the Cretaceous Uitenhage Group mudstones and siltstones are poor aquifers: a 2008 report for a site about 30 km north of Port Elizabeth cites a study finding close to 40% of boreholes in these rocks yielded less than 0.5 L/s, with salty water (conductivity often above 300 mS/m against the SANS 241 limit of 170 mS/m). Results depend heavily on where your plot falls, and a dry or low-yield borehole is a real risk.
This is a regional picture. Which rock your plot is on, and what it will yield, only a site survey and test drilling can show.
Borehole water quality in Gqeberha
Table Mountain Group water in the Uitenhage Artesian Basin is low in salts but acidic and corrosive, so test pH. In the Uitenhage Group rocks away from the basin, the 2008 report cites conductivity often above 300 mS/m with sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride and sometimes sulphate above drinking limits, so test electrical conductivity, sodium and chloride.
SANS 241 tests to ask for first in Eastern Cape
- Electrical conductivity: 170 mS/m or less (aesthetic)
- Sodium: 200 mg/L or less (aesthetic)
- Chloride: 300 mg/L or less (aesthetic)
- pH: 5 to 9.7 (operational)
- E. coli: not detected in 100 mL (acute health)
Whatever the province, the baseline checks are E. coli, nitrate, pH and total dissolved solids. Only a lab test tells you what your water holds.
Water quality guide · Is borehole water safe to drink? · Water filters and treatment
Borehole permits and rules in Gqeberha
Nelson Mandela Bay publishes a borehole registration form that owners send to [email protected], and a May 2026 IOL report says registration is compulsory once drilling is complete. The municipality's Water and Sanitation Services By-laws, as printed on that form, say in clause 82 that no one may use water from a source other than the municipal supply for domestic, commercial or industrial purposes without the prior consent of the Executive Director, who may ask for evidence that the water meets SANS 241 or is not a danger to health, and may install a meter where the water goes into the sewer. Ask the municipality or DWS whether your plot is inside the Uitenhage groundwater control area before you drill. Under the National Water Act, taking borehole water for reasonable domestic use on your own property is a Schedule 1 use: no water use licence and, according to DWS, no national registration. Other uses can fall under the General Authorisation or need a licence. Municipal by-laws still apply on top of this.
Rules change and we are not your lawyer. Check the municipality's current process before you drill.
Read the permits and regulations guide →Questions to ask before you hire
- 1Can I have a written quote that says what is included: siting survey, drilling per metre, casing, yield test, pump, tank, VAT and any minimum charge?
- 2What happens if the borehole is dry or yields very little? Is there a minimum charge, and is it in writing?
- 3Who does the siting survey, and is it a SACNASP-registered hydrogeologist or geophysicist?
- 4Can I speak to recent customers, and can I see a driller's log or completion report from a recent job?
- 5Does the company belong to the Borehole Water Association of Southern Africa, and does it follow SANS 10299 (design, construction and drilling of boreholes)?
- 6Will you do a yield test (test pumping), how long will it run, and will I get the results?
- 7How will you handle my municipality's rules, and do you submit borehole data to the DWS National Groundwater Archive?
- 8Which laboratory will test the water against SANS 241, and will the results come to me?
- 9Do you carry public liability insurance, and can you show proof? Is there a written guarantee on workmanship, and what does it cover?
Pump installation, water filtration and equipping are usually quoted separately from drilling.
Areas this page covers (Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality)
Nearby places with their own rules
Addo is outside the metro and under a different municipality, so its rules differ.
Borehole drilling in other cities
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Borehole drilling Cape Town
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Borehole drilling Pretoria
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Borehole drilling Thohoyandou
Limpopo · 10 listed companies
Borehole drilling Polokwane
Limpopo · 5 listed companies
Borehole drilling Durban
KwaZulu-Natal · 5 listed companies
Sources
- OurPower borehole drilling cost guide, city table (updated 1 October 2026) (city totals, per-metre rates and typical depths; a price-guide page, not quotes)
- Maclear (2001): the hydrogeology of the Uitenhage Artesian Basin, Water SA 27(4) (Uitenhage Artesian Basin yields, quality and control area)
- Meyer (2008): geological and geohydrological report, Grassridge near Addo (Uitenhage Group yields and salinity, citing earlier studies)
- Nelson Mandela Bay borehole registration form, with the by-law clauses that apply to owners (registration form and Water and Sanitation Services By-law clause 82)
- IOL, 18 May 2026: boreholes in South Africa, legal pitfalls every homeowner should know (news report: municipal rules in several cities)
- National Water Act 36 of 1998, DWS copy (Schedule 1) (reasonable domestic use and by-laws)
- SANS 241-1:2015 drinking water limits (laboratory transcription) (limits quoted on this page)
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