Borehole Drilling in Pietermaritzburg
What we could source about borehole drilling in Pietermaritzburg: 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 Pietermaritzburg
Indicative project price
R45,000 to R105,000
R320 to R580 per metre. From one price guide. We found no other published Pietermaritzburg price source.
Typical drilling depth
40 to 100 m
From one price guide. 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.
Listed companies
4
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 Pietermaritzburg (4)
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.
Mzansi Drilling
Otto’s Bluff Rd Claridge SH, Pietermaritzburg, 3215, South Africa
4.3 out of 5
24 reviews
Google rating, early 2026
Midlands Pumps
10 King St, Pietermaritzburg, 3201, South Africa
4.7 out of 5
11 reviews
Google rating, early 2026
Aquatec Pumps & Drilling
76 Victoria Rd, Pietermaritzburg, 3201, South Africa
4.8 out of 5
5 reviews
Google rating, early 2026
Supreme Drilling
32 Wally Hayward Dr, Ashburton, Pietermaritzburg, 3213, South Africa
1 out of 5
1 review
Google rating, early 2026
Geology and drilling conditions in Pietermaritzburg
The rock around Pietermaritzburg is largely Ecca Group shale, called the Pietermaritzburg Formation after the city. A 2022 University of KwaZulu-Natal study of the eThekwini area describes this shale as behaving like an aquitard rather than an aquifer, with water moving mainly through fracture zones and bedding planes, and notes that dolerite sills are common in it; older Dwyka Group rocks averaged 0.4 L/s in that study. Expect low and variable yields. A dry or low-yield borehole is a real risk, so insist on a siting survey.
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 Pietermaritzburg
In the KwaZulu-Natal study the Pietermaritzburg Formation shale gave sodium-calcium-chloride type water and the Dwyka rocks sodium-chloride-bicarbonate type, so test electrical conductivity and chloride as well as E. coli and nitrate.
SANS 241 tests to ask for first in KwaZulu-Natal
- E. coli: not detected in 100 mL (acute health)
- Electrical conductivity: 170 mS/m or less (aesthetic)
- Chloride: 300 mg/L or less (aesthetic)
- Nitrate: 11 mg/L as N or less (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 Pietermaritzburg
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. We could not find a published Msunduzi Municipality borehole rule, so ask the municipality before you drill.
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 (Msunduzi Municipality)
Nearby places with their own rules
Hilton and Howick are in other municipalities with their own rules, and Durban has its own page.
Borehole drilling in other cities
Borehole drilling Durban
KwaZulu-Natal · 5 listed companies
Borehole drilling Johannesburg
Gauteng · 40 listed companies
Borehole drilling Cape Town
Western Cape · 29 listed companies
Borehole drilling Pretoria
Gauteng · 15 listed companies
Borehole drilling Thohoyandou
Limpopo · 10 listed companies
Borehole drilling Gqeberha
Eastern Cape · 6 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)
- Msweli, University of KwaZulu-Natal MSc (2022): potential aquifers around eThekwini (yields and water levels by rock type, seawater intrusion)
- 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)
Request borehole quotes in Pietermaritzburg
Send one request and, with your consent, we pass it to listed drilling companies in your area so they can quote. Each company sets its own prices and decides whether and when to reply, and we cannot promise how many will.
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