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Borehole drilling in Midrand
A typical borehole in Midrand is drilled to about 70 m and costs about R49,450 with steel casing at the top, PVC casing and a pump, at R380 a metre, our Johannesburg rate. Government monitoring boreholes around Midrand put the water at a median 23 m below ground, and about half of the readings are within 20 m of the surface. A site visit confirms the spot, the depth and the final price before any drilling.
By Ironstone Boreholes. Updated 26 October 2026.
- Water below ground (median)
- 23 m
- Typical borehole
- 70 m
- Drilling rate
- R380 /m
- Lined and pumping
- R49,450
How much does borehole drilling cost in Midrand?
A 70 m borehole in Midrand comes to about R49,450, lined and pumping, at the same rates our quote tool uses (checked 25 October 2026). Most of Midrand is priced at our Johannesburg rate of R380 a metre (up to R460 in hard rock); the northern edge, such as Blue Hills, falls under our Pretoria rate of R410.
| What you pay for | Price |
|---|---|
| Drilling, 70 m at R380 a metre | R26,600 |
| Steel casing at the top | R1,500 |
| PVC casing, 70 m | R10,150 |
| Pump for a 70 m hole | R11,200 |
| Borehole, lined and pumping | R49,450 |
Every 10 m deeper or shallower moves the price by about R5,250, plus a bigger or smaller pump. Water to the house usually adds a 5,000-litre tank (R6,940), a 3.5 m stand installed (R21,800) and a pressure pump (R2,950). Full price breakdown: borehole drilling prices.
Water keeps cutting out in Midrand? Do this first
Get water stored before the next cut: a tank on a stand with a pressure pump keeps the taps running when the mains pressure drops, and a borehole that fills that tank is the long-term fix.
- Store water now. A 5,000-litre tank (R6,940), a 3.5 m stand installed (R21,800) and a pressure pump (R2,950) come to about R31,690.
- Price the borehole for your address. The quote tool uses the water records around your plot; a site visit then confirms the spot and the depth.
- Apply for the City’s consent before drilling. Midrand is part of the City of Johannesburg; the steps are below.
- Keep the borehole off the municipal pipes. Johannesburg Water wants a backflow preventer between the two systems.
Midrand knows how long a cut can last. On 27 January 2026 a pump motor failed at Rand Water’s Zuikerbosch treatment plant, a leak at the Klipfontein reservoir inlet followed, and parts of Midrand went almost six days without water before supply was restored in phases.
Latest: on 23 October 2026 Rand Water said it will start restricting bulk water to Johannesburg because the city keeps using more than its allocation, and warned of low pressure or on-and-off supply. What El Niño means for your water.
How deep is the water around Midrand?
The government’s monitoring boreholes around Midrand put the water at a median of 23 m below ground. The middle half of readings sit between 12 m and 47 m, and 48% are within 20 m of the surface. Latest readings run from 2019 to 2026.
The monitoring boreholes nearest central Midrand put the water at about 31 m, so our quote tool prices an address there at about 70 m, shallower than the 80 m we price for central Johannesburg. Midrand sits on the granite of northern Johannesburg, where water is in cracks in the rock, so two holes on the same street can give very different results and a siting survey earns its fee.
For how depth is decided anywhere in the country, see how deep is a borehole.
Is borehole water around Midrand safe to drink?
Of the boreholes the government has tested around Midrand, about 3 in 4 were over the iron limit, about half were over the manganese limit and about 1 in 3 over the salt limit. These are 2025 results. Test before anyone drinks the water: a lab test costs R800 to R2,500, and a filter matched to the result costs R5,000 to R15,000. See borehole water testing.
Do you need permission to drill in Midrand?
Yes. Midrand is part of the City of Johannesburg, and as reported by Daily Maverick in 2025, the City asks for written consent under section 14(1) of its Land Use Scheme before a borehole is drilled. The fee reported in 2025 was R1,185, and the City aims to decide within 28 days. Johannesburg Water also wants a backflow preventer between the borehole system and the municipal supply. The full list of what goes with the application is on borehole drilling in Johannesburg.
We can prepare the drawing for your application from the site visit. Household use still needs no licence from the Department of Water and Sanitation.
Questions people ask
How much does a borehole cost in Midrand?
About R49,450 for a 70 m borehole with steel casing at the top, PVC casing and a pump, at R380 a metre. A tank, stand and pressure pump to get water to the house add about R31,690. The site visit sets the final price.
Do I need permission to drill a borehole in Midrand?
Midrand is part of the City of Johannesburg, so the City’s rule applies: written consent under its Land Use Scheme before drilling (fee reported as R1,185 in 2025), and Johannesburg Water wants a backflow preventer between the borehole and the municipal supply.
What should I do when the water keeps cutting out in Midrand?
Store water first: a 5,000-litre tank on a stand with a pressure pump keeps the taps running when the mains drops. A borehole that fills the tank is the long-term fix, and it must stay separate from the municipal pipes.
Related
Where these numbers come from
- Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS): National Groundwater Archive, GRIP borehole records, groundwater-level monitoring and water-quality results supplied to us by DWS GeoRequests, September and October 2026
- Ironstone Boreholes drilling and pump rates by city and province, last updated 25 October 2026
- GroundUp: Midrand residents protest six-day water outage (3 February 2026)
- EWN: Midrand water crisis: phased restoration underway as reservoirs recover (3 February 2026)
- Mail & Guardian: Rand Water to restrict water supply to Johannesburg and Tshwane (23 October 2026)
- Daily Maverick: Thinking of drilling a borehole in Joburg? (28 February 2025, updated 17 June 2025)
- National Water Act 36 of 1998, Schedule 1 (permissible use of water)
Get a price for your borehole in Midrand
Type your address and see the price line by line, with the water records around your plot. A site visit confirms the spot, the depth and the final price before any drilling starts.