What is the test for?
Borehole Yield Testing South Africa measures what a hole can give day after day rather than what it gave for ten minutes when it was drilled. A test pump runs at a measured rate while the water level is logged, and the recovery is watched afterwards. It is the figure a pump should be sized from.
- Know what a proper test should cost, so you never pay too much.
- Say what the hole is and what you need from it, and quotes come back fast.
- From LEADERR APPROVED providers, vetted and backed by many verified 5-star reviews. Peace of mind that the pump gets sized from a measurement rather than a guess.
Say what the hole is and what you need from it, and get yield test quotes.
Get the Best QuoteBorehole Yield Testing Prices
Ballpark figures so you can check a quotation.
| Item | Ballpark price |
|---|---|
| Short yield check, domestic hole | R1,800 - R4,500 |
| Step test, three to four steps | R3,500 - R9,500 |
| Constant discharge test, 6 hours | R3,500 - R9,000 |
| Constant discharge test, 24 hours | R7,500 - R18,000 |
| Constant discharge test, 72 hours, commercial | R18,000 - R45,000 |
| Recovery monitoring and report | Usually in the test |
| Yield certificate for a water use application | R2,500 - R9,500 |
| Geohydrologist report on the test data | R4,500 - R18,000 |
| Test pump hire and mobilisation | R2,500 - R12,000 |
Prices JUST UPDATED. Ballpark figures, rounded, excluding VAT. They reflect typical South African borehole drilling, pump and water treatment rates. They are not our prices or quotations, and no provider is bound by them. Drilling is quoted PER METRE and the depth is not known until the hole is down, so confirm what each quotation includes, such as mobilisation, casing, development and what you pay if no water is found.
The Tests, and What Each One Is For
- Blow yield. What the driller measured on air at the end of drilling. Useful, optimistic, not a design figure.
- Step test. Several increasing rates in sequence, to find where drawdown runs away.
- Constant discharge test. One rate held for hours, with levels logged. The standard design test.
- Recovery test. The level watched as it comes back after the pump stops. This is what shows sustainability.
- Slug or short test. A quick indication on a low yield hole where a long test is not warranted.
What Comes Out of It
- Sustainable yield. Litres an hour the hole can give continuously, or over a stated pumping day.
- Static water level. Where the water stands at rest.
- Pumping water level. Where it settles while pumping, which is what the pump has to lift from.
- Drawdown and recovery curves. How fast it falls and how fast it comes back.
- Recommended pump setting depth. Below the pumping level with a margin for the dry season.
- A certificate. Which a water use application, a bank or a buyer may ask for.
Getting a Test Worth Having
- Run it long enough. Six to twenty four hours on a constant discharge test, not an hour.
- Log the levels. With a dipmeter or a logger at intervals, written down. Verbal results are worthless.
- Watch the recovery. A hole that takes a day to come back is telling you its real yield.
- Discharge away from the hole. Pumping water back onto the headworks makes the result meaningless.
- Test in the dry season if you can. A figure from after good rain flatters the hole.
- Size the pump below the figure. At the sustainable rate, not at the peak the test touched.
Get a test price for your own hole rather than a range.
Get the Best QuoteWhat Affects the Price
- How long the test runs. The main cost. Six hours and seventy two hours are different jobs.
- Whether a rig or a test pump is needed. A hole with no pump in it has to be equipped for the test.
- Travel. A test pump, a generator and a technician on site for a day on a rural property.
- How deep the hole is. Deeper settings need a bigger test pump and more pipe.
- Whether a report is included. Raw data and a geohydrologist's interpretation are priced separately.
- Whether it is for an application. A test to support a water use licence has prescribed requirements.
What to Include in Your Request
- The hole details. Depth, diameter, casing and the blow yield if you have it.
- Whether there is a pump in it. And its size and setting depth.
- What you need the water for. It sets how long the test needs to run.
- Why you need the test. Pump sizing, a property sale, a water use application or a dispute.
- Where the water can be discharged. And how far from the hole.
- The address. Suburb and town, so travel can be priced.
Before You Book a Test
- Ask how long the test runs. And insist on long enough for what the figure will be used for.
- Ask for the raw data. Time, rate and water level. It is yours and the next contractor will want it.
- Ask whether recovery is monitored. A test without recovery is half a test.
- Ask who interprets it. A technician measures. A geohydrologist signs off a sustainable yield.
- Ask about the discharge. Where the pumped water goes, and that it is not recharging the hole.
- Use the figure to size the pump. That is the point of paying for it.
Borehole Yield Testing FAQs
What is the difference between blow yield and sustainable yield?
Blow yield is what came out on compressed air at the end of drilling, measured over minutes. Sustainable yield is what the hole will give hour after hour without the water level running away, measured by pumping it for hours and watching the level. Blow yield is routinely two or three times the sustainable figure, which is why pumps sized from it fail.
How much does a borehole yield test cost?
Roughly R1,800 to R4,500 for a short domestic yield check, R3,500 to R9,000 for a six hour constant discharge test, and R7,500 to R18,000 for a twenty four hour test. A commercial seventy two hour test with a geohydrologist report runs considerably higher. Mobilisation of a test pump is sometimes quoted separately.
How long should a yield test run?
Long enough for the water level to stabilise or for its trend to be clear. Six hours is a reasonable minimum for a domestic pump sizing, twenty four hours is the common standard, and seventy two hours is typical where a water use authorisation or a commercial supply depends on the answer.
Do I need a yield test if the driller gave me a figure?
If the figure was blown rather than pumped, yes, before a pump is bought. The driller's number is honest as far as it goes, but it was measured over minutes on air and it is not a design figure. A pump sized above the sustainable yield pulls the hole down to its own inlet and burns out, which is the most common way a new borehole fails.
Will a test tell me if the hole will last?
It tells you how the hole behaves now, including how fast it recovers, which is the best available indicator. It cannot predict drought or abstraction by a neighbour. Tests done at the end of a dry season are more conservative and more useful than ones done after good rain.
Do I need a test for a water use licence?
For abstraction beyond reasonable domestic use, the Department of Water and Sanitation generally expects a pump test and a geohydrological assessment as part of the application. The required test length and reporting depend on the volume applied for, so confirm the requirement before booking the test rather than after.
A measured yield is what every pump quote on Borehole Drillers South Africa should be built from.
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