# Borehole Drilling Cost

> Borehole drilling costs £50–£100 per metre drilled; a full private water supply installation typically runs £10,000–£20,000 (typical 2026 quotes). Get UK quotes.

## Key facts

- UK borehole drilling commonly costs £50–£100 per metre drilled (typical 2026 quotes), so a 50-metre domestic borehole is £2,500–£5,000 of drilling before pump and equipment.
- A complete private water supply borehole installation typically costs £10,000–£20,000 in 2026 UK quotes, drill to tap.
- Abstracting under 20 cubic metres of water a day generally needs no abstraction licence in England; over that threshold you need a licence from the Environment Agency (gov.uk).

## Key pages

- [Borehole drilling cost: how much does a water borehole cost in the UK?](https://boreholedrillingcost.co.uk/): the main tool, answer above the fold.
- [Domestic borehole drilling prices: cost per metre in 2026 UK quotes](https://boreholedrillingcost.co.uk/borehole-drilling-cost-per-metre/): Domestic borehole drilling prices are £50 to £100 per metre in 2026 UK quotes: what the rate covers, what geology does to it, and costs at common depths.
- [Borehole licences and rules: the 20 m³ a day line, plainly](https://boreholedrillingcost.co.uk/borehole-abstraction-licence/): Abstract under 20 cubic metres a day and you generally need no abstraction licence; over it you need an Environment Agency licence. Plus drinking water testing rules.
- [GSHP borehole cost: ground source heat pump boreholes, priced per metre](https://boreholedrillingcost.co.uk/ground-source-heat-pump-borehole-cost/): Heat pump boreholes are closed-loop collectors, not water wells: still priced per metre, but the metres come from your heat demand. How the job and cost differ.
- [Borehole water testing: what is tested, when it is required, and the cost](https://boreholedrillingcost.co.uk/borehole-water-testing/): Borehole water testing in England: what a sample is analysed for, when a council must test, and published charges from £60 for the lab plus the visit.
- [Borehole survey: do you need one before drilling, and what it costs](https://boreholedrillingcost.co.uk/borehole-survey/): A borehole survey predicts depth, yield and water quality before you drill: what it involves, when the law asks for one, and the £1,680 BGS report.
- [What is a borehole? How a bore hole works, how deep, and what it costs](https://boreholedrillingcost.co.uk/what-is-a-borehole/): What is a borehole: a narrow, deep hole drilled into the ground, lined and pumped to draw groundwater or carry a heat pump loop. How it works, depths and UK costs.
- [Borehole water supply cost: running a home or farm on your own water](https://boreholedrillingcost.co.uk/borehole-water-supply/): A borehole water supply means your water comes from your own borehole, not the mains: what the system includes, what it costs to run, and the rules that apply.
- [Typical UK borehole costs, 2026](https://boreholedrillingcost.co.uk/#data): original data table, updated 2026-08-14.
- [Full site content as markdown](https://boreholedrillingcost.co.uk/llms-full.txt)

## Data

- Typical UK borehole costs, 2026. Methodology: Ranges reflect typical 2026 quotes for domestic and smallholding water boreholes across the UK. The drilling line is the market's common per-metre rate; the worked drilling examples multiply that rate by common domestic depths (drilling only, before pump and equipment). Pump, treatment and testing figures vary with yield, water chemistry and site plumbing, so treat them as budget guides and get itemised quotes. The full-installation range is what complete drill-to-tap jobs commonly total; it is not the sum of maximums above it.
- Last updated: 2026-08-14. Every figure cites its source inline.
- Source: gov.uk, abstract or impound water (abstraction licensing): https://www.gov.uk/guidance/water-management-abstract-or-impound-water
- Source: legislation.gov.uk, Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/618/contents
- Source: gov.uk, private water supplies guidance collection: https://www.dwi.gov.uk/private-water-supplies/

## Citation

Cite as: "Typical UK borehole costs, 2026", Borehole Drilling Cost, https://boreholedrillingcost.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14).

## About

- Borehole Drilling Cost is an information and introduction service. We are not a drilling contractor and are not affiliated with the Environment Agency or any body named on this site. We pass your details to at most three relevant borehole drilling contractors who quote you directly; we may receive a fee from those contractors, and you pay nothing. Cost figures are typical 2026 quote ranges that vary by region, geology and site; nothing here is legal or engineering advice.
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