Mamre sits where the Malmesbury farming ground meets the West Coast sand belt, so cover depth changes what is possible across short distances.
Establishing which side of that transition your property sits on is the first useful step.
What Is Under Mamre
| Formation | Where it sits | What it means for drilling |
|---|---|---|
| Malmesbury Group | Beneath the area and at surface across the higher ground | Modest default yields. The productive holes are those that intersect fracture and fault zones. Salinity tends to run higher than in sandy ground. |
| Cape Granite Suite | Reaching into parts of the area | Weathered mantle and jointing hold the water. Contact zones with the shale are worth targeting. |
| Sand and superficial cover | Variable, thicker toward the Cape Flats side | Where it has useful depth it can hold shallow water. Where thin, it is only overburden to drill through. |
Send your street and what the water is for, and get an itemised quote for Mamre.
Get a Mamre Borehole QuoteWhat That Means for Your Borehole
- Expect modest yields where the hole draws from Malmesbury rock, and design around storage rather than a larger pump.
- Cover thickness changes across short distances, altering both the drilling method and the casing requirement.
- Salinity belongs in the analysis, being a documented characteristic of this groundwater.
Where We Work Around Mamre
- Mamre village and surrounds
- Atlantis and Witzand approaches
- Darling-side farming properties
- Silwerstroom and coastal approaches
- Smallholdings on the village fringe
- Community and school grounds
- Livestock and mixed farming stands
What to Watch For Here
The transition runs through this area. Toward the coast, sandy ground can hold accessible water and a wellpoint may be possible. Inland on the Malmesbury rock, yields are modest and a drilled borehole is the only route.
Salinity is worth measuring either way - from the Malmesbury rock inland, and from coastal influence toward the sand belt.
What the Water Is Used For
- Household and garden supply on village stands
- Smallholding irrigation and livestock
- Community and school facility grounds
- Farmhouse and worker accommodation supply
- Standby supply where municipal reliability is a concern
- Small-scale crop irrigation where yields allow
Wellpoint or Borehole?
Generally not viable, though cover depth decides it. Where sand over the rock is thin, which is usual, a driven point has nothing to work with. Where cover is thicker toward the flats it is worth assessing before pricing a borehole.
Registration and Abstraction
Boreholes and wellpoints here must be registered with the City of Cape Town. Separately, the National Water Act governs how much you may abstract: reasonable domestic use and small-scale garden watering generally fall under Schedule 1, while larger abstraction may require registration or a water use authorisation from the Department of Water and Sanitation. Requirements change, so confirm your position before drilling.
Related Services
For the drilling process itself, the geology across the wider metro and how a quote is put together, see Borehole Drilling Cape Town.
Borehole Prices in This Area
Drilling is charged per metre, so depth drives the total. The ranges below are framed for local ground conditions and access.
| Item | Indicative range | What moves it locally |
|---|---|---|
| Drilling, per metre | R450 - R1,100 /m | Depends which formation you hit. Sandy cover drills fast; the Malmesbury rock and granite beneath it do not. |
| uPVC casing, installed, per metre | R400 - R700 /m | Diameter and class. Weathered-zone thickness is not known until drilling starts. |
| Mobilisation and site establishment | R2,500 - R9,000 | Access and site conditions move this; a site visit settles it before quoting. |
| Water survey | R5,000 - R12,000 | Targets structure rather than depth. Worth most where yield is fracture-dependent. |
| Yield testing | R3,500 - R15,000 | Establishes the sustainable rate that pump selection depends on. |
| Pump, supplied and installed | R15,000 - R45,000 | Greater depth means more head, which means a larger pump and heavier cable. |
| Storage and booster | R12,000 - R35,000 | Needed wherever peak demand exceeds the borehole's sustainable rate. |
| Typical complete project | R65,000 - R190,000+ | Everything above, excluding treatment, which depends entirely on the water analysis. |
These are indicative ranges, not a quotation. They are compiled from published South African supplier and contractor pricing to give you a starting point for budgeting. They are not our rate card, and no figure here is a commitment.
Treat them as a broad guide only. Published borehole pricing in South Africa varies enormously - different 2026 guides quote per-metre drilling rates for the same province that differ by a factor of three - because depth, geology, access, specification, distance and fuel costs all move the number. Depth in particular is not known until the hole is finished. Figures generally exclude VAT unless noted, and change over time. Only an itemised written quote against your actual site means anything.
Mamre Borehole FAQs
Is Mamre ground sandy or rocky?
Both, depending where you are. The area sits on the transition between the Malmesbury farming ground inland and the West Coast sand belt toward the coast.
That difference decides the drilling method, the likely depth and whether a cheaper wellpoint is even possible, so establish it before pricing anything.
What yield can a Mamre property expect?
On the sandy side, generally reasonable and reliable. On the Malmesbury rock inland, modest unless the hole intersects fracturing, which is not predictable without a survey.
Design the system around the tested sustainable rate, using storage to cover peaks rather than a larger pump.
Should Mamre water be tested for salinity?
Yes, from both directions. Malmesbury groundwater carries relatively higher salinity as a documented characteristic, and coastal influence adds to it toward the sand belt.
It matters for irrigation of sensitive planting and for domestic use, so it belongs in the analysis rather than being assumed.
Can a smallholding here run on a borehole?
Often, but it needs extended yield testing rather than a domestic-scale check, because sustained irrigation and livestock demand draw very differently from garden use.
Abstraction beyond reasonable domestic use may also require registration or authorisation from DWS.
DRILLING IN MAMRE?
Send your street and what you need the water for, and get an itemised quote.
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