Drilling a Bore Well in Australia | Start to Finish + Cost Summary

What does it take to find groundwater? In this video we'll take you through the entire process from start to finish & provide an estimate for what a project like this can cost.
We'll also show you some of the challenges you may run into, and difficult decisions that may need to be made while looking for groundwater.
And here's the link to our previous video on Water Divining, & using the Australian Groundwater Database for determining the likelihood of finding groundwater in your area:
• Divining / Dowsing For...
▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
00:00 - Intro
00:47 - Where to Drill a Bore Well?
01:47 - Setting Up the Drilling Rig
02:40 - How a Bore Well is Drilled
04:23 - Challenges with our Bore & Difficult Decisions
06:13 - Driving Steel Casing Into The Bore Hole
08:15 - Drilling Through Sandstone Bedrock
08:50 - We Found Water!!!
09:46 - Drilling a Bore Sump
10:20 - Bore Well Cross-Sectional Diagram & Explanation
10:51 - Did Water Divining Work for Us?
11:28 - Determining Bore Well Flow Rate
12:14 - Pulling out the Drilling Rods
12:50 - Dropping in PVC Bore Casing
13:20 - Cutting Steel Casing with Oxy-Acetylene Torch
13:40 - What Does it Cost to Drill a Bore Well? (Estimate)
About Us:
We're Alex & Sarah, a young couple on the North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, who decided to move off grid and leave the city life behind in search of more peace and simplicity. Follow our journey as we share what we learn along the way while building our Fully Off Grid Home & restoring our Overgrown Organic Tea Tree Plantation.
Filmed with GoPro Hero 12 & DJI Mini SE Drone.

Пікірлер: 68

  • @offgridcitycouple5695
    @offgridcitycouple56955 ай бұрын

    Bore Permits in NSW: Water NSW does the applications, they're mandatory to drill a bore, cost about $1K for a domestic use bore and then you can pump as much as you require for domestic purposes, within reason - because you can deplete an aquafer by pumping too much, so it's a precious resource to be respected. I mentioned 'registeted' bores in this video because back in the days some people may have drilled unregistered ones, nowadays it's a lot more strict with drillers requiring to see an application approved before booking you in. Bore needs to be (if I remember correctly) 40m from any gullies/Billabongs etc. and 50m minimum away from septic system. 👍

  • @sassyh154
    @sassyh1545 ай бұрын

    Yay, well done... you got this. Cheers for sharing...

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    One small step at a time 🙂

  • @honeybacres
    @honeybacres5 ай бұрын

    Thanks for great video. I’m glad you found the water you were looking for. Great result.

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    Thanks for stopping by 🙂 and yes the result was very fortunate for the risk. Glad it's done and dusted now

  • @AAAA-vu7fp
    @AAAA-vu7fp5 ай бұрын

    Great videos,very interesting and educational

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    Thanks for stopping by 🫡✌️

  • @gordonagent7037
    @gordonagent70375 ай бұрын

    Great outcome guys, water is life so happy days and a new beginning complete

  • @nags3404
    @nags34045 ай бұрын

    Well done guys, really informative. Congratulations

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    Thanks Nags 🙂

  • @allisonwoods6161
    @allisonwoods61615 ай бұрын

    Awesome, congratulations 🎉😊

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    Thank you Allison 🙂

  • @StephenMelody
    @StephenMelodyАй бұрын

    You were very brave to spend the extra money since the sides kept caving in, the end result was worth it. Well done!

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    Ай бұрын

    Thanks Stephen 🙂 it was either that or accepting that drought will always get the best of us, very grateful it turned out the way it did

  • @oilyragsgarage7200
    @oilyragsgarage72005 ай бұрын

    Congratulations, very happy to see 🥳 water is a necessity.

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    It's so nice no longer being a desert 🫠 Thanks for stopping by as always ✌️

  • @gabbyb7342
    @gabbyb73425 ай бұрын

    Congratulations !!!!!

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    😁

  • @bobbyliu597
    @bobbyliu5975 ай бұрын

    Very helpful for people DIY solar pumps. Great job! Thanks Bobby from Tuhorse pumps

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    Thanks Bobby 🙂 I'll add a link in the description to your website 👍

  • @kiweekeith
    @kiweekeith5 ай бұрын

    Thanks so much for a Very Informative and well narrated vidclip .... Best wishes to ALL from ChCh, NZ

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    Thanks for your kind words Keith 🙂

  • @joejones1763
    @joejones17632 ай бұрын

    Who did you guys use to dowse for you? My guy is usually Juergen Schmidt, here in SA… but not having much luck contacting him at the moment. I’m impressed that your dowser got the depth correct too. Cheers, Joe

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    2 ай бұрын

    Antony Flower was our diviner, really nice guy. Don't know if he'd make it out to SA though

  • @joejones1763

    @joejones1763

    2 ай бұрын

    Thank you for letting me know 👍

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    2 ай бұрын

    @@joejones1763 ✌️

  • @user-kf3vn4qx2x
    @user-kf3vn4qx2x2 ай бұрын

    Hi..after putting down the pvc casing dont you put silica gravel sand in between casing and drilled hole to work as filtration to avoid sand particles to go through the screened casing at the bottom

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    2 ай бұрын

    On this occasion we didn't, maybe some other operators do. After we had already put the bore pump down the well, we learned from these comments that you can DIY install a flow sleeve on the bore pump. It's just another PVC pipe that covers the pump, so that it sucks water in from the bottom. This helps sand particles to fall to the bottom of the well, instead of coming in through the side inlet of the pump. But even without the sleeve, the amount of sediment we have coming through the pump is really minimal

  • @Dr.Shivachev
    @Dr.Shivachev15 күн бұрын

    For how long you can get water from there?

  • @genemcintyre5352
    @genemcintyre53525 ай бұрын

    Well Done 37.77 is roughly 100 degrees F. My son and I are about to go onto a bare block, first thing will be a bore.

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    Thanks Gene 🙂 and good on you guys, it's such an important investment that completely changes the experience of being on the land, wishing you all the best in finding good water 🤞

  • @eelsrule1
    @eelsrule15 ай бұрын

    Yeesss!!!

  • @AAAA-vu7fp
    @AAAA-vu7fp5 ай бұрын

    Does one need to register the bore or can one just have a bore unregistered and are there fees to dig your own water

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    Water NSW does the applications, they're about $1K and then you can pump as much as you require, within reason - because you can deplete an aquafer by pumping too much, so it's a precious resource to be respected. I mentioned 'registeted' bores as back in the days some people may have drilled unregistered ones, nowadays it's a lot more strict with drillers requiring to see an application approved before booking you in. Bore needs to be (if I remember correctly) 40m from any gullies/Billabongs etc. and 50m minimum away from septic system. 👍

  • @AAAA-vu7fp

    @AAAA-vu7fp

    5 ай бұрын

    @@offgridcitycouple5695 thank you,much appreciate the info

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    @@AAAA-vu7fp 🙂

  • @87xfute
    @87xfute5 ай бұрын

    I know it may of taken 4 days but now you hopefully have water for life, Amen. Seeya Rob

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    Hey Rob, cheers and as always thanks for checking out our videos 🙂

  • @sunilgoud619
    @sunilgoud6194 ай бұрын

    Sir how much u charge per meter only for drilling

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    4 ай бұрын

    Around $200 per metre, but you'd need to check with local drillers 👍

  • @user-ct1zg5tp3j
    @user-ct1zg5tp3j5 күн бұрын

    How many feet deep this boar well

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 күн бұрын

    130 ft ✌️

  • @user-ct1zg5tp3j

    @user-ct1zg5tp3j

    4 күн бұрын

    @@offgridcitycouple5695 thanks from India 🇮🇳

  • @bigears4014
    @bigears40145 ай бұрын

    Did you say 4 or 40 k , my place is solid rock from about 6 feet

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    $4K, it's about $126/metre for test bore. Shouldn't cost any different if u have rocks, unless it's exceptionally hard stuff.

  • @bigears4014

    @bigears4014

    5 ай бұрын

    @@offgridcitycouple5695 dolerite and confused

  • @littlehills739
    @littlehills7395 ай бұрын

    so around 9-11k $

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    For 42m depth, it's 200 x 42 = $8.4K under normal circumstances, plus the $1K permit fee is like $9.4K Most people don't need steel casing but if you do, you add that on top because the steel casing is extra addition and extra process. So as an example 30 x 300 = $9K So $18.4K total without pump. Not a cheap exercise but it's water for life and is an asset.

  • @titseye
    @titseye5 ай бұрын

    Ground water will be a game changer, hopefully the test results come back that it is safe to drink without the need for expensive filters etc!

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    Fingers crossed 🤞🤞🤞 and for now all the plants seem to love it so that's a win already 🙂

  • @Fwdking
    @Fwdking5 ай бұрын

    Lucky man , Sarah is a peach.

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    Cheers, it's not easy to find the right kind of fruit to take on a crazy project like this with. But yeah let's keep comments PG here, we're running a wholesome operation for free knowledge sharing ✌️

  • @Fwdking

    @Fwdking

    5 ай бұрын

    @@offgridcitycouple5695 lucky , that's why I wrote peach.

  • @jamesbrown99991
    @jamesbrown999915 ай бұрын

    There is no reason dousing would ever work; it is effectively magic. Affordable methods that can be used include: Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Seismic Refraction, and existing Government water table databases.

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    It's a funny thing like that as science technically disproved it, but for many, many generations old farmers have found groundwater with divining, and all bore drilling businesses have divining rods...

  • @StephenMelody

    @StephenMelody

    Ай бұрын

    James Brown, I am a professional water diviner servicing a part of Queensland where underground water is scarce. Only about 10% of rural properties I divine contain underground water with a flow volume and water quality worth drilling. My success rate to date is 99% as I have only got one call wrong where the hole produced sloppy mud instead of liquid water. I have an Honours Degree in Applied Science from the University of Queensland. I know divining should not work, but it works perfectly for me and has done since I was 14 years old. I do not know the exact mechanics of how it works but it is definitely related to the void in underground rocks where the actual water flows and is not related to the presence of the water. In this part of the world, the scientifically-based alternatives you recommend are next to useless. Drillers who rely solely on selecting the drill site using these alternatives have a dismal success rate. Landholders are well aware of this and around here, they all ask for a professional diviner to make the final decision of where to drill.

  • @StephenMelody

    @StephenMelody

    Ай бұрын

    Yes James, when you see it done it seems like magic, but it does work. The dowser detects fractures or voids in the underlying rock where hopefully water will be flowing. The fractures in the rock occur during movements in the earth's crust layer or when volcanic rock layers cool after reaching the surface during volcanic eruptions. Cooling causes contraction and consequent cracking. Sometimes there is water in these cracks if the crack is attached to an aquifer. If the crack is not attached to an aquifer, it does not carry flowing water. The equipment you mention also locates these underground fractures.

  • @JstocktheRCguy
    @JstocktheRCguy5 ай бұрын

    dowsing rods are pure BS do indeed move, but not in response to anything underground. They are simply responding to the random movements of the person holding the rods

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    That's what we though until we tried it, gotta give it a go man 😉

  • @feelgoodboy

    @feelgoodboy

    3 ай бұрын

    I used to think the same too. But when i hired the professional to do it, he used to the dowsing rod first to find the right spot. After that , he used the PQWT detector to confirm. After drilling on the said spot for about 120 ft, the water was found and alot too.

  • @StephenMelody

    @StephenMelody

    Ай бұрын

    Slow motion photography has shown that the movement of the rods is caused by tiny, almost imperceptible movements in the hands of the water diviner. Whatever object the diviner is looking for underground applies no direct force to the divining rods, it is the diviner moving them.

  • @bigears4014
    @bigears40145 ай бұрын

    Dick smith showed water divining was a crock , they couldn't find water

  • @offgridcitycouple5695

    @offgridcitycouple5695

    5 ай бұрын

    Did they drill 30-150m bore wells in multiple locations?

  • @StephenMelody

    @StephenMelody

    Ай бұрын

    I have an Honors Degree in Applied Science from the University of Queensland and a Post Graduate qualification. Over my 40 year working life as a scientist, I have conducted or overseen thousands of scientific experiments in the areas of physics, chemistry and biology using the scientific method. I have scrutinized to the nth degree all the scientifically controlled tests conducted to date on water divining , including the one you refer to. These include the test conducted in Italy by the American magician James Randi, the tests conducted in Australia by James Randi and also by Dick Smith and James Randi in 1989, the test conducted by the German government, and the tests conducted by The Australian Skeptics Inc in Australia. While many of these tests were conducted in a scientific manner, none of them tested what dowsers do, which is to find water in cracks in rocks underground. Not one of these tests involved experimenters drilling a hole where the dowser says there is water and another hole 1 yard or so away where the dowser says there is no water. As such, we have no scientifically-obtained data to draw on to conclude if dowsing is effective or not. The experiments that have been conducted were all done on models of what a dowser does, not on the real world situation. Because the variables in the 2 situations (real world and model of real world) are different, you cannot extrapolate the results from the model experiments to the real world situation. Unfortunately, this is what skeptics have done and lay people who have no concept of scientific experimental protocols have been well and truly hoodwinked into believing the skeptic’s claims.

  • @StephenMelody

    @StephenMelody

    Ай бұрын

    The Dick Smith experiment in 1989 involved asking diviners to find bottles containing water that had been placed in holes in the ground. This is not what diviners do - they find water in cracks in underground rocks and therefore this experiment was not valid in determining if dowsing does or does not work.

  • @StephenMelody

    @StephenMelody

    Ай бұрын

    This experiment was done in 1989 in Australia and showed that water diviners could not detect the presence of bottles of water placed in holes in the ground under a layer of carpet at a frequency greater than chance. Unfortunately, it was not a test that asked diviners to find water in cracks in underground rocks, so there is a question about the validity of the experiment.