Hydrogeological Survey
Required before you can drill
A geologist maps the aquifer, marks the drilling point and writes the report the Water Resources Authority needs. Skip it and you risk paying for a dry hole.
FromKES 40,000
Get a quoteKenya's borehole guide
Davis & Shirtliff Borehole Drilling Cost
How Kenya's best known water brand prices against the rest of the market.
Get a free quote✓ Countrywide, all 47 counties
Survey first
We drill where the water is
Licensed rigs
Permit checked every job
Permits handled
WRA and NEMA sorted for you
Real market rates
Published per metre
Davis & Shirtliff Cost
Davis & Shirtliff is the most recognised water equipment name in Kenya, so it is the price most people check first. The honest answer is that established brands generally sit at the upper end of a market that runs about KES 6,700 per metre for air-rotary drilling and about KES 15,050 per metre in loose ground.
We drill boreholes too, so read the comparison below knowing that. The right question is not who is cheapest, it is what is actually in the quote.
What the job involves
6 line items · market rates
100m Borehole, drilled and equipped
100m · air rotary · electric pump
The most common depth in the Nairobi metro. Covers the survey, permits, 100m of air-rotary drilling with casing, test pumping and an electric submersible pump.
FromKES 980,000
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150m Borehole, drilled and equipped
150m · air rotary · electric pump
Where the water table sits deeper, as in much of Kajiado, Machakos and the drier counties. Same scope as the 100m package with 50 more metres of drilling and casing.
FromKES 1,315,000
Get a quoteAir Rotary Drilling
Per metre · stable rock formation
The standard method where there is solid rock beneath. The per-metre rate already includes mobilisation, casing, graveling, well development and test pumping.
FromKES 6,700
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Solar Pumping System
Solar pump, panels and controller
No power bill and no grid dependency, which matters on farms and off-grid plots. It costs more upfront than an electric pump and pays back through saved tokens.
FromKES 250,000
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WRA and NEMA Permit Processing
Authorisation to drill
The Water Resources Authority permit and the NEMA environmental licence. Drilling without them is illegal and the borehole can be sealed.
FromKES 50,000
Get a quoteComparing quotes properly
Put any brand's quote next to the market breakdown: mobilisation around KES 420 a metre, drilling around KES 3,220, casing around KES 2,269, graveling KES 280, well development KES 70, test pumping KES 420, water analysis KES 21. Then check the survey, the permits and the pump, which are quoted separately.
A larger firm typically prices above that baseline. Sometimes you are buying something real for the difference: better casing, a proper warranty, a company that will still exist in ten years when the pump fails. Sometimes you are buying the name.
What a brand premium should buy you
Ask what the premium covers. A written yield guarantee, the casing class, warranty length on the pump and the workmanship, and whether they will return to service the borehole. Those are worth paying for.
If the answer is only that they are well known, that is the part worth negotiating on. Either way, insist on the line-by-line breakdown before comparing any two quotes.
Why Proboreholedrillers
One team from the survey to the first glass of water
A borehole is five jobs bundled into one: the survey that finds the water, the permits that make it legal, the drilling, the test that proves the yield, and the pump. We run all five for you, with licensed rigs and a quote broken down line by line, so you know exactly what you are paying for before anyone starts.
- ✦ Survey first, so you drill where the water is
- ✦ WRA and NEMA permits handled for you
- ✦ A quote itemised at real market rates
Do you need a borehole drilled?
Tell us where the plot is and what the water is for. We will handle the survey, the permits and the drilling, and come back to you with the likely depth and what it will cost. Countrywide, all 47 counties.
Get a free quoteQuestions, answered
Frequently asked questions
How much does Davis & Shirtliff charge for borehole drilling?+
Established brands generally price at the upper end of a market running about KES 6,700 per metre for air rotary and about KES 15,050 per metre for mud rotary, with the survey, permits and pump quoted separately. Ask for the line-by-line breakdown so you can compare like with like.
Is a bigger borehole drilling brand worth the premium?+
It can be, if the premium buys a yield guarantee, a better casing class, a real warranty and a company that will still be trading when the pump fails. It is not worth it if the only difference is the name.
How do I compare borehole quotes fairly?+
Insist that every quote breaks out mobilisation, drilling, casing, graveling, well development, test pumping and water analysis per metre, then survey, permits and pump separately. Single-number quotes cannot be compared.
Explore more
Your own water supply, drilled by licensed contractors. Find out what your site needs and what it will take.
View Home →Every line of a borehole quote, priced at the 2026 market rate, so you can tell a fair number from a padded one.
View Cost →Compared on what actually matters: published pricing, verifiable licences and boreholes finished.
View Compare Drillers →What the pump costs, what the installed job costs, and how depth and yield decide which one your borehole can actually take.
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