Rules · boreholes
Do you need permission for a borehole in South Africa?
Most household boreholes need no water-use licence, but that is not the end of the paperwork. The national law and your metro's by-laws both apply.
By Borehole Payback · updated 24 October 2026
Will a borehole pay for itself?
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Garden water from each metro's average 2021–2025 weather; 2026/27 water and sewage tariffs incl. VAT; pump electricity at R3.50 per kWh. Drilling at R1 000 per metre incl. casing.
What our numbers show
Our calculations, data as of 24 October 2026
- Schedule 1 of the National Water Act allows you to take water for reasonable domestic use and small gardening not for commercial purposes, from a water resource on or bordering your land, without a licence.
- The permission holds only if the use is not excessive for the resource and other users, and it does not override any other law or by-law.
- Cape Town's Water By-law requires at least 14 days' written notice before sinking a borehole or wellpoint, and registration once it is installed. The City then sends a sign that must be visible at the entrance.
- With 7.4 yrs payback for a 250 m² garden in Cape Town, a fine for an unregistered borehole could cancel years of savings.
The national rule
Schedule 1 of the National Water Act, 1998, lists uses that need no licence. A person may take water for reasonable domestic use in their household, and on land they own or occupy, for reasonable domestic use, small gardening not for commercial purposes and watering animals that graze on that land, from a water resource on or bordering the land, as long as the use is not excessive for the resource and other users. The Act adds that this permission does not override any other law, ordinance, by-law or regulation.
Irrigating a commercial crop, selling water or supplying several properties goes beyond Schedule 1 and can need a general authorisation or a licence from the Department of Water and Sanitation.
Cape Town
- Give the City at least 14 days' written notice before sinking a borehole or wellpoint.
- Register the borehole or wellpoint after installation, by e-mail to the City's water department.
- Display the City's sign with the registration number where it is visible from the street; water inspectors can fine owners who do not.
- Borehole water is not drinking water unless tested; taps and irrigation points must be marked as non-potable.
See the City of Cape Town: apply to sink a borehole or wellpoint.
Other metros
Johannesburg, Tshwane and eThekwini have their own water by-laws and forms; Tshwane, for example, publishes a borehole application form. During water restrictions some metros also limit when borehole water may be used for gardens. Ask the metro's water department before drilling, and keep the registration with your property documents.
This week
Metro of the week: eThekwini (Durban)
A household in eThekwini (Durban) using 30 kl of municipal water a month pays about R2 253 a month for water and sewage under the 2026/27 tariffs. A 60 m borehole watering a 250 m² garden would save about R4 769 a year after pump electricity and upkeep, and pay back in 19.8 years.