Water Bore and Water Well Drilling

The Water Bore Process, Start to Finish

Every bore we drill follows the same sequence, and we handle each step rather than leaving the paperwork with you.

In NSW a bore needs approval from the water regulator before it is drilled, and irrigation bores also need a water access licence. We prepare and lodge the applications for domestic and irrigation bores as part of the job. Our sister company BG Water Solutions has a plain-language guide to bore water licences in NSW if you want the detail before you call.

Selecting the bore location comes next. We look at the geology, the likely depth to the aquifer and the practical constraints of the site: access for the rig, distance from septic systems and boundaries, and where on the property the water is actually needed.

Drilling is done by mud rotary or air, depending on the ground. Air drilling with a down hole hammer suits rock and consolidated formations. Mud rotary supports the hole in sands, clays and soft ground where the walls will not stand on their own. Because our rigs switch between the two, the method is chosen for the geology rather than for whatever happens to be on the truck.

The bore is then constructed to the Australian minimum construction requirements for water bores, with casing and screens sized to the aquifer, and developed to clear the drilling fluids and fine material so it delivers clean water at its full yield. We complete and lodge Form A, the driller's report of the completed works that the regulator requires for every bore, so your bore is properly on record.

Pump testing and analysis tells us the sustainable yield of the bore, which is what the pump is sized to. We then install the pump. Where the water needs treatment before use, BG Water Solutions can advise on bore pumps and bore water filtration.

Types of Water Bore We Drill

Stock and domestic bores are the most common bore we drill: a supply for the house, garden, tanks and livestock on a rural or semi-rural block.

Irrigation bores, temporary and permanent, serve recreation, commercial and industrial irrigation, from a sports field or a nursery to a farm. Where the demand is high we drill large diameter multi-aquifer irrigation bores up to 500 mm, using our large diameter bits and hammers, which draw from more than one aquifer to deliver the volume the system needs.

Injection bores return water to the aquifer rather than draw from it.

Dewatering bores are drilled on construction sites and excavations where groundwater has to be lowered and held down so the work can proceed in the dry, typically as an array of bores around the excavation that is pumped for the duration of the works.

Groundwater monitoring bores are installed to a specification so that groundwater levels and quality can be sampled over time. Where the monitoring forms part of a contamination assessment, our environmental drilling crews handle the installation and the sampling.

Rigs, Depth and Site Access

BG Drilling operates a fleet of 20 drill rigs, from hand portable units through to truck mounted and tracked machines, so a bore on a constrained suburban block gets a different rig from a 500 mm irrigation bore on open farmland. For confined sites we run 9 dedicated tight access rigs with a small footprint. Where the bore has to go through a slab or near live underground services, our vacuum excavation crews can pothole the first metres before the drill rig sets up.

Water Bores Across NSW and the East Coast

We are based at Banksmeadow in Sydney and drill water bores in rural and metro areas across NSW, the ACT, Victoria and Queensland. Our sister company BG Water Solutions covers the water supply side of the same work for NSW and ACT properties: licensing, pumps, filtration and bore servicing. If your question is about getting the bore drilled, talk to us. If it is about what happens to the water once the bore is in, their team can help.

Talk to BG Drilling about a water bore on your property. Tell us where the site is, what the water is for and roughly how much you need, and we will tell you what the licensing involves, which rig suits and what the process looks like from there. Get in touch.