[Fleecewife]

@SallyintNorth  this is for you initially.
You mentioned elsewhere that you have just had a borehole put in.  We really should have had ours done already but G has dithered all winter and now we find ourselves approaching what will probably turn out to be another water free summer.
If you have time, could you please give the details of the whole experience please from first enquiries, permissions, choosing a company to do the work, pitfalls, etc etc.
I know that's a big ask at a busy time of year so tell me to go away if you haven't time.
Anyone else with any experience will be most welcome too 

[SallyintNorth]

Unfortunately I have not been part of the team who got ours organised, but I can certainly ask if any of them would be willing to have a chat with you by some means or other.  I'll get back to you by DM.

Ours is live now, my goodness it's nice to have full water pressure all the time .   

[Fleecewife]

Thanks Sally, I'll wait to hear 


I'm dreaming of....a dishwasher.......a washing machine that I don't have to do most of the filling with a jug.  Trouble is we would have to change our new shower, just put in, for it to cope with the new pressure.
Mainly though, it would be lovely not spending each summer worrying that the well will run dry, as it did last year.

[Fleecewife]

We've set things in motion.  The first thing to get is a BGS (British Geological Survey) report.  This is just a desktop search and gives the likelihood of finding water plus the resistance of rocks to go through and any cracks etc likely to be met.  I had assumed that because we have a well, we would get water from a bore, but the bore will be 3 times the depth of the well so will intercept different geological structures.  The report will cost in the region of £800 but the drillers can't go ahead without it. That should come through in about a month then I suppose we get in a queue for a home visit then the drilling rig to come calling.  We definitely should have started this last autumn!

[oor wullie]

I've never heard of people needing a BGS report here.
We choose location based on where I was going to build a shed and kept drilling until we hit water.
Both my neighbours had someone divining to identify water before drilling (although tbh I'm sure they would have hit water regardless).

The company I used said only about 2% of their holes failed to find water.

The depth needed was perhaps the biggest unknown.

My borehole is twice the depth of my neighbours one (300m away) and from a different source(and quality) of water so I suspect that the hydrogeology is so localised that no one would be able to predict it.
If you live in a more uniform area than my wee valley then perhaps it would be more predictable.

[Fleecewife]

Thanks @oor wullie   The Geo report is currently under way; it's a desk job report so they do various bits including hydro-geology. It seems to be not only to find where there might be water but also to specify the types of rock the drillers will have to go through, to prevent nasty surprises! We live in a strange geological area, between a volcano and an 'upwelling' (Tinto Hill), on a volcanic ridge but with coal layers nearby and possibly beneath.  The geological map looks very confused.
The BGS wanted to know of any other boreholes in the area, but they are the ones who keep those records!
The whole thing is a massive amount to pay but once it's done we will have water to last us out.  Our current well is only 20 feet deep (to the top of sediment) and the borehole will be about 60m, so they must reach water at some point, surely.
Now we've made the decision to just go for it, we're sitting back and waiting for the cogs to turn and hopefully our well will not run dry this year before the borehole is drilled.

[oor wullie]

Yeah, there is a lot to be said for making a decision to do it then to stop worrying once the process has been started.

I imagine coal could complicate things which the bgs should have a good handle on.

I doubt the bgs have records of domestic boreholes which is why they will have asked.  I've certainly never told them about mine and there is no need to register a borehole with anyone.

Hopefully yours is a success and you'll soon be out competing Highland Spring!!

[Fleecewife]

Yeah, there is a lot to be said for making a decision to do it then to stop worrying once the process has been started.

I imagine coal could complicate things which the bgs should have a good handle on.

I doubt the bgs have records of domestic boreholes which is why they will have asked.  I've certainly never told them about mine and there is no need to register a borehole with anyone.

Hopefully yours is a success and you'll soon be out competing Highland Spring!!

   Now there's a thought    There's nothing else about this malarkey that brings in any cash.  Now what could I call my new product?