Borehole Running Costs: What It Costs to Pump Your Own Water

Drilling a borehole is a capital decision. But the upfront cost is only part of the story — what you spend month to month, year after year, determines whether it actually saves you money against a municipal water bill. This article breaks down the realistic ongoing costs so you can do the sums properly before committing.

The three cost buckets

Borehole running costs fall into three categories: electricity to run the pump, routine servicing and water testing, and eventual pump replacement. Each one is predictable enough to budget for — provided you understand what drives the numbers.

Electricity is the biggest recurring item. Your pump runs every time water is drawn, and in a household with normal usage, that adds up. South Africans use roughly 237 litres per person per day on average, which is above the global average of around 173 litres — so a family of four is moving a meaningful volume of water.

Servicing covers mechanical inspection, motor checks, and water quality testing. Skipping it is a false economy; a pump that fails prematurely costs far more than the service call you avoided.

Pump replacement is an infrequent but significant expense. Submersible pumps don’t last forever, and the cost of replacement needs to sit somewhere in your mental budget.

Borehole electricity costs: what to expect

The electricity cost of running a borehole pump depends on three things: pump power rating (in kilowatts), daily run time, and your local electricity tariff. Borehole pumps are typically sized between 0.37 kW and 2.2 kW for domestic installations, though deeper boreholes or higher-yield requirements push that figure up.

As a rough guide, a 0.75 kW pump running two hours a day would consume around 1.5 kWh daily. At Johannesburg tariff rates — which you should confirm directly with Johannesburg Water or City Power, as they adjust periodically — that translates to a monthly figure you can calculate once you have your unit rate. The point is that electricity cost scales directly with pump size and run time, so a household that also irrigates a garden will spend noticeably more than one using the borehole only for toilet flushing and laundry.

A practical way to estimate: check your pump’s nameplate wattage, estimate daily run time realistically (not just average days, but high-use days too), and multiply by your current electricity unit cost. If you’re still at the planning stage, any reputable installer should be able to model this for your specific site. You can explore the full picture of installation and running costs together on our borehole drilling guide.

Servicing and water quality testing

Annual or biannual servicing is not optional if you want reliable water and a pump that lasts. A typical service visit includes checking motor performance, inspecting the rising main and pump head, testing for drawdown levels, and — critically — testing water quality.

Water quality matters because borehole water is not automatically safe to drink. SANS 241 (2024 edition) is the South African standard for drinking water quality, and your water needs to be tested against it before you use it for consumption. Bacterial contamination, dissolved minerals, and iron levels can all vary, and none of it is visible to the naked eye.

As a rough guide, professional servicing typically costs R1,500–R4,000 per visit depending on depth, access, and what’s included. Water testing from an accredited laboratory adds to this. Budget for at least one full service per year, and a water test at the same interval — more frequently if you’re using the water for drinking or cooking.

Wondering what servicing and installation will actually cost at your address? Compare 3 free quotes — vetted installers, no obligation.

Pump replacement: the long-term cost to factor in

Submersible borehole pumps typically last eight to fifteen years with proper maintenance — though that range is wide and depends heavily on water quality (sandy or acidic water accelerates wear), how often the pump cycles, and whether the system was correctly sized in the first place.

Borehole pumps typically cost R15,000–R35,000 installed. If your pump lasts ten years, that’s R1,500–R3,500 per year in amortised replacement cost — a real number that belongs in your running-cost calculation even if you don’t pay it annually.

Adding this to electricity and servicing, a reasonable total annual running cost for most Johannesburg households sits somewhere in the R3,000–R8,000 range, though high-use properties or those with deeper boreholes or larger pumps will sit higher. Always get site-specific figures rather than relying on averages.

How borehole running costs compare to a municipal water bill

Johannesburg Water’s tariff structure includes a fixed availability charge plus a volumetric rate that increases in steps as consumption rises. For a household using, say, 20–30 kilolitres per month, the annual municipal water bill can run to meaningful amounts — and that figure climbs if you’re watering a garden through summer.

The honest comparison is: borehole electricity plus servicing plus amortised pump replacement, versus your current water bill for the volumes you’d replace. In many cases, the running costs of a borehole are lower than the municipal equivalent for the same volume — particularly for households in the higher tariff bands. But the comparison only works if you’ve paid off the capital cost, which for a complete borehole system typically runs R60,000–R100,000 for most Johannesburg installations (the full range is R40,000–R150,000). For a detailed breakdown of what drives those upfront numbers, see our article on borehole cost in Johannesburg.

One context worth keeping in mind: Johannesburg Water reports non-revenue water of 44.8% in its 2024/25 audited figures — water that enters the distribution system but never generates revenue, largely through leaks. That systemic inefficiency is part of why municipal tariffs face ongoing pressure upward, which affects the long-term comparison in the borehole’s favour.

If you're ready to get real numbers for your property, request quotes from local installers who can assess your site and model the running costs accurately.

Reducing your borehole running costs

A few practical measures make a meaningful difference over time:

• Right-size the pump. An oversized pump costs more to run and wears faster. A proper yield test before installation prevents this.
• Use a pressure tank. A correctly sized pressure vessel reduces pump cycling, which is the main cause of premature motor wear.
• Time irrigation sensibly. Running irrigation at night or early morning reduces evaporation and concentrates pump run time, which some variable-rate tariff structures reward.
• Test water annually. Catching deteriorating water quality early prevents damage to appliances and keeps the water safe.
• Service on schedule. The R2,000 service call that catches a bearing problem early is cheaper than the R25,000 pump replacement it prevents.

Cost item	Typical annual range	Notes
Electricity	R1,500–R4,500	Varies with pump size and daily run time
Servicing	R1,500–R4,000	One full service plus water test
Pump replacement (amortised)	R1,500–R3,500	Based on 10-year pump life
Total	R4,500–R12,000	Higher end for large or deep installations

These are rough guides only. Your actual costs depend on your pump, depth, usage, and tariff — get quotes for site-specific figures.

The bottom line

Borehole running costs are real but manageable, and for most Johannesburg households they come in below an equivalent municipal water bill once the capital is paid off. The key is going in with accurate numbers: know your pump’s power draw, budget for annual servicing and water testing, and don’t ignore the eventual pump replacement in your sums. A borehole that’s properly maintained and correctly sized is a reliable long-term asset — one that becomes more valuable the more pressure municipal infrastructure comes under.