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
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Kenya's borehole guide
What Is a Borehole?
The plain version, before you spend a million shillings on one.
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
Buyer's Guide
A borehole is a narrow, deep hole drilled straight down into rock to reach an aquifer, then lined with casing and fitted with a pump. In Kenya they are typically 50 to 250 metres deep and about 150 to 200 millimetres wide.
The short version of the difference from a well: a well is wide, shallow and usually hand dug into soil; a borehole is narrow, deep and machine drilled into rock. That is why borehole water is generally cleaner and far more reliable in a dry season.
Borehole or well
A hand-dug well reaches the shallow water table, which is the first water below the surface and also the water most exposed to whatever is on the surface: latrines, livestock, run-off. It is cheap and it fails in a drought.
A borehole goes past that into a deeper confined aquifer protected by rock above it. It costs far more, it needs permits and a rig, and it keeps producing when the shallow water table has dried up.
Types of borehole
Boreholes are usually described by how they are drilled and how they are equipped. Air rotary is used in rock and is the common method in the Nairobi metro. Mud rotary is used in loose ground and costs about double per metre. Manual drilling is limited to shallow, soft ground.
On equipping, the split is electric submersible, solar, or a hand pump on a shallow low-demand hole.
How deep will mine need to be?
There is no useful average, because depth is set by geology rather than by preference. In parts of the Nairobi metro water comes in near 100 metres; in drier counties 150 to 250 metres is normal.
Only the hydrogeological survey answers this for your specific site, and since depth is the main driver of cost, that survey is also the moment your budget stops being a guess.
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
Get a quoteWRA 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 quoteWhy 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
What is a borehole?+
A narrow, deep hole drilled into rock to reach an aquifer, lined with casing and fitted with a pump. In Kenya they are usually 50 to 250 metres deep.
What is the difference between a borehole and a well?+
A well is wide, shallow and usually hand dug into soil, reaching the shallow water table. A borehole is narrow, deep and machine drilled into rock, reaching a protected aquifer. Borehole water is generally cleaner and far more reliable in a drought.
How deep is a borehole in Kenya?+
Typically 50 to 250 metres. Depth is set by the geology of your site, which is what the hydrogeological survey establishes, and it is the main thing that decides the cost.
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 →The step that decides whether your borehole finds water, and the report the Water Resources Authority will ask for.
View Survey →Cheaper than a rig, and strictly limited to shallow holes in soft ground.
View Manual Drilling →Clean at the source is not the same as safe to drink. What the tests look for and what to do about it.
View Borehole Water →