Water Boring

Water Divining: Myths and Beliefs

Divining and Water Bores: Divining –Myth or Actual. Barry is a believer in divining and has performed divining with proven success over many years, Particularly in the hills areas of Perth and regional areas where we specialise in hard rock water boring. We pride ourselves in this unique service of “ Water Divining” and are  Specialists in drilling on narrow hard rock and limestone streams throughout the hills of Perth and surrounding areas.

Examples of Divining success

(1) 5 acre property in Bullsbrook .

Three water bores were drilled by a contractor with small rig unable to penetrate granite. Total water flow from 3 bores- 500 ltrs per day.  The property was later divined by Barry, a suitable location found, one hole drilled into granite. Total depth 48m- developed at 1500ltr per hour.

(2) 60 acre property Bindoon. Two bores drilled by the contractor, one x 100m, other 60m, both were dusters.  Divined and drilled on new location approx 20 metres from one of the bores . At 42m hit the divined fracture with water flow at 1250 ltr hr.

And there is much more success.

There are three main kinds of underground water sources, Streams, Superficial Aquafers, Confined aquafers.  Surficial aquafers are common and generally shallow in depth 5m-80m and is common for the Perth area sand plains and are used by common household for residential/domestic purposes. The Confined aquafers are generally deeper and between 100m to 500m and the water here is used for commercial purposes. Streams are more common to the hills areas and are generally 10- 100m  in depth and are fractures in the granites or old gravel beds from ancient streams which water flows through. Drilling a Hole for Water without Divining can become a non- productive very expensive option. Divining for a water stream prior to drilling a hole is highly recommended particularly throughout the hills areas and regional areas . Even in Coastal Zones like areas Gingin to Lancelin. Once a potential location has been divined then the drill can commence to drill the hole to the source. In the Hills surrounding Perth the ground can be very hard to drill which requires a reasonable heavy duty percussion drill.

Water Borer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water Boring Equipment

Drilling a Water Bore

 

The first step is deciding on a suitable site with good access for the drill rig which is mounted on a heavy rigid truck. Usually, the best place for a bore is close to power, and out of the way. However, the location is usually determined by the best divined location.

We then set the rig up and start drilling.

Once we have intercepted suitable water and all cuttings have been cleaned out, A water sample is collected and tested for salinity. At this stage, if the water is of suitable quality the bore is cased. If the quality is poor  (High Salinity) the hole is abandoned.

After the casing and screens have been installed a gravel pack is placed between the outside of the casing. The production zone is completely sealed off with a bentonite clay seal.

bore development is the next step. This may take from half an hour to several hours, depending on how fine the sand is or fine clays are. Towards the end of this stage the bore flow is measured to determine Litres per hour flow rate.

On completion, the space between the casing and the borehole is sealed with a grout sealing from the surface down to the first impermeable layer. This prevents contamination from surface runoff or subsurface contamination from septics

The property owner receives a copy of the bore log, which states the static water level, Maximum flow rate, Recommended pumping flow rate and water TDS (salts) test analysis.

 

Here is an image of one of our completed bores

Completed Bores

Underground water Quality and Quantity can vary considerably throughout the hills and regional areas.

Freshwater -Salinity from 250 ppm to 1250 ppm.Suitable for drinking and household use.

Moderate water –Salinity from 1300 ppm to 2000 ppm.Suitable for gardens fruit trees and blending with rainwater supplies.

High salinity 2000 ppm to 3000 ppm. Suitable for stock water supplies and watering lawns.

3000ppm salinity and higher is not recommended to develop the bore. At this high a salinity the owner is consulted whether to proceed with development or abandon. If a hole is abandoned due to high salinity then a 35% discount is applied to the drill charge rate. The hole is sealed with a cement plugged and filled in.

Water Bore Maintenance

 

Water Bore

 

There are many reasons why a bore stops producing or fails completely.

  • Sand ingress silting the bore and damaging the pump.
  • Iron oxide scale which can scale the slots in the casing reducing water flow
  • Old bore with steel casing that has rusted away collapsing into the bore.
  • Pump piping is holed due to back pressure or blockage
  • Pump has faulted due to rusting or water ingress causing an electrical fault.
  • Bore pump has come off from getting jammed in hole
  • Water table has dropped over the years.
  • Bore not deep enough.

We can service your bore by doing.

  • Clean-outs by air lance
  • Chemical cleans for Iron oxides .
  • Pump test to determine bore production and best depth for pump setting.
  • Flow test and pump set up
  • Casing repairs
  • Redrills