Something has stopped working, and the question is what and why. Borehole systems have a limited number of failure modes, and most of them announce themselves clearly enough to narrow down before anyone pulls a pump out of the ground.
The expensive way to repair a borehole is to replace components until the symptom disappears. The efficient way is to work through the system in order, because the symptom usually points to a section.
Tell us what the system is doing - and when it started - and get a repair quote.
Get a Borehole Repair QuoteStart With the Symptom
What the system is doing narrows the field considerably. This table is the fastest route from symptom to likely cause:
| Symptom | Most likely causes, in rough order |
|---|---|
| No water at all, pump silent | Power supply, tripped breaker or earth leakage, failed control gear, dry-run protection latched out, burnt motor, cable or joint failure. |
| Pump runs but no water delivered | Water level below the pump intake, failed non-return valve, broken or disconnected rising main, dropped pump, severely worn impellers, closed valve. |
| Flow strong at first, then falls away | The pump is out-drawing the borehole and pulling the level down. Points to pump oversizing or a decline in borehole yield. |
| Pump starts and stops repeatedly | Pressure vessel pre-charge lost or bladder failed, passing non-return valve, leak in the system, pressure switch set incorrectly, pump too large for the demand. |
| Low pressure everywhere | Worn impellers, pressure switch settings, partially closed valve, blocked filter, undersized or partially blocked pipework. |
| Air spluttering at outlets | Water level drawn to the intake, a leak drawing air on the suction side of a booster, or a failing non-return valve. |
| Breaker or earth leakage tripping | Cable insulation failure, a failed cable joint, water ingress into the control enclosure, motor winding failure. |
| Sand or grit in the water | Screen or gravel pack problem, borehole not properly developed, pump set too low into sediment, or casing damage. |
| Motor keeps burning out | Almost always an underlying cause - dry running, undersized cable and voltage drop, missing protection, or repeated cycling. |
A recurring failure is a design problem, not a component problem. If you are on your third pump in five years, the pump is not the issue. Something in the sizing, the protection or the electrical installation is destroying pumps, and replacing another one without finding it will produce the same outcome.
How Faults Should Be Diagnosed
A structured approach costs less than a parts-swapping approach, because pulling a pump is the expensive operation and you want to do it once, knowing why:
- 1Establish the history. When did it start, was it sudden or gradual, what changed beforehand, and has anything been worked on recently. Gradual decline and sudden failure point in very different directions.
- 2Check the electrical supply first, because it is quick and it is often the answer. Supply present, breakers and earth leakage, isolator, control gear, and whether any protection has latched out.
- 3Measure running current against the motor nameplate. High current suggests mechanical load or a winding problem; low or no current points elsewhere.
- 4Test insulation resistance of motor and cable together, then separately if possible. This distinguishes a failed motor from a failed cable or joint without pulling anything.
- 5Measure the water level at rest and while pumping. This immediately separates borehole problems from equipment problems.
- 6Measure flow and pressure at the discharge, and compare against the commissioning figures if they exist.
- 7Check the system side - non-return valve, pressure vessel, pressure switch, valves, filters and visible pipework.
- 8Only then pull the pump, with a working theory of what will be found rather than as an exploratory exercise.
The measurements at steps four and five do most of the work. Insulation resistance tells you whether the problem is electrical and where; water level tells you whether the borehole is still delivering. Between them they resolve a large proportion of faults before anything is lifted.
Third pump in five years? That is a system fault, not bad luck. Get it diagnosed properly.
Request a Diagnostic QuoteCommon Repairs
Pump and motor
- Pump replacement after motor failure, worn impellers or seizure - with sizing reviewed rather than repeated
- Pump retrieval where a unit has dropped or become stuck in the hole, which needs proper fishing equipment and is a specialist operation
- Impeller and wear-part replacement on units where that is economic
- Pump repositioning where it has been set too low into sediment or too high relative to the pumping level
Electrical
- Submersible cable replacement where insulation has failed
- Cable joint repair or remaking - a very common failure point, and one worth doing properly rather than quickly
- Control box and panel repairs, including contactors, capacitors, relays and starters
- Fitting or replacing protection - dry-run, overload, phase failure and voltage protection
- Correcting undersized cable, where voltage drop has been cooking motors
- Sealing control enclosures against water ingress
Pipework and system
- Rising main repair or replacement after a failed joint or split pipe
- Non-return valve replacement where it is passing and causing backspin or cycling
- Pressure vessel replacement or recharge
- Pressure switch replacement and resetting
- Headworks repairs - cap, seal, discharge fittings and isolation valves
- Float and level switch replacement on tank systems
- Leak repairs on buried distribution pipework
When a Repair Is Not the Answer
Some situations look like repairs but are actually something else, and it is worth knowing before you spend:
| Situation | The real issue |
|---|---|
| Pump keeps running dry despite working protection | Sizing. The pump takes more than the borehole sustains. Needs yield testing and a correctly matched pump, not another replacement. |
| Yield has genuinely declined at the borehole | The hole itself, not the equipment. Rehabilitation may recover performance where the cause is encrustation, blockage or sediment. |
| Persistent sand destroying pumps | A screen, gravel pack or development problem. A new pump will meet the same fate. Investigate the borehole first. |
| Frequent faults across an ageing system | Piecemeal repairs on a system near the end of its life can cost more than a planned replacement. Worth pricing both. |
| Water quality has changed | Not a mechanical repair. Needs water analysis to establish what changed and why. |
What Affects Repair Cost
- Diagnosis time - an obviously failed component is quick; an intermittent fault takes longer to prove
- Whether the pump has to come out, which is the single biggest cost step and depends on depth
- Borehole depth, which affects retrieval effort, cable and rising main lengths
- Which component failed - a pressure switch and a submersible pump are at opposite ends of the range
- Whether a stuck or dropped pump needs retrieval, which is a specialist operation with its own equipment
- Access for lifting equipment over the borehole
- Whether the fault is a symptom of a sizing problem that should be corrected at the same time
- Attendance timing, with emergency call-outs priced differently from scheduled visits
When requesting a quote, describing the symptom precisely - what happens, when it started, whether it was gradual or sudden, and what has been worked on recently - gets you a far more useful response than reporting that the borehole is not working.
Related Borehole Services
Where a fault turns out to be the borehole rather than the equipment - persistent sand, collapsed casing, a hole that was never properly developed - the cause usually traces back to construction. Borehole Drilling Cape Town explains what should have been done at drilling stage.
What Borehole Repairs Cost
Diagnosis comes first because the pump is the expensive thing to pull, and you want to do it once knowing why. Surface-side faults are usually the cheap end; anything requiring the pump to come out is not.
| Item | Indicative range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Call-out and fault diagnosis | R750 – R2,500 | An obviously failed component is quick. An intermittent fault has to be caught while it is happening. |
| Pressure switch or vessel replacement | R900 – R6,000 | Surface-side work, no pump removal needed. |
| Non-return valve replacement | R1,200 – R4,500 | Whether it sits at the headworks or downhole. |
| Cable or joint repair | R2,000 – R12,000 | Cable length and whether the pump must come out to reach the fault. |
| Pump replacement, supplied and fitted | R15,000 – R45,000 | Review the sizing before ordering like-for-like - the original may have been wrong. |
| Stuck or dropped pump retrieval | R6,000 – R30,000+ | Specialist fishing operation. Success is not guaranteed, and that should be said upfront. |
| Rising main repair or replacement | R150 – R400 /m | Depth and pipe class. |
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.
Borehole Repair FAQs
My borehole has stopped working. What should I check first?
Start with the electrical side, because it is quick and it is often the answer. Check that power is present, that the breaker and earth leakage have not tripped, and whether the dry-run protection has latched out - many controllers need a manual reset after a dry-run trip.
If the pump is silent and there is no obvious supply issue, or if it runs but delivers nothing, stop there rather than repeatedly resetting. Repeated restarting of a pump that is running dry or has a fault will cause further damage.
Why does my pump run but no water comes out?
The usual causes are that the water level has fallen below the pump intake, that the non-return valve has failed, that the rising main has split or disconnected, or that the pump has dropped in the hole. Severely worn impellers and a closed valve somewhere in the system also produce this.
Measuring the water level is the quickest way to separate a borehole problem from an equipment problem, and it can be done without pulling anything out.
Can an old borehole be repaired?
Often yes, though it depends on what has failed. Equipment - pumps, cables, valves, control gear - is generally replaceable regardless of the borehole's age.
Where the borehole structure itself is the problem, such as collapsed or corroded casing or a damaged screen, the picture is more complicated. Some of these are recoverable through rehabilitation; others reach a point where redrilling is the more sensible option. An inspection establishes which.
Why do my borehole pumps keep failing?
Repeated pump failure is a system problem, not bad luck. The common underlying causes are a pump oversized for the borehole so it runs dry, missing or non-functional dry-run protection, undersized cable causing voltage drop that overheats the motor, sand causing abrasive wear, and short cycling from a failed pressure vessel.
Replacing another pump without identifying which of these applies will produce the same result. A yield test plus an electrical check usually settles it.
How do you get a pump out if it has dropped in the borehole?
Retrieval - sometimes called fishing - uses specialised tools lowered into the hole to grip and lift the pump or the broken pipework. It is a specialist operation and success is not guaranteed, particularly where the pump has jammed against the casing or fallen into sediment.
The usual causes are a failed rising main joint or the absence of a proper safety line, which is why a safety rope that takes the pump's weight independently of the pipework should be standard on every installation.
Why does my borehole pump keep tripping the earth leakage?
That normally indicates current leaking to earth, most often through failed cable insulation, a badly made or deteriorated cable joint, water ingress into the control enclosure, or a motor winding breaking down.
An insulation resistance test on the motor and cable identifies where the fault sits and often distinguishes a cable or joint problem from a motor problem without pulling the pump. Do not keep resetting it - a persistent earth fault is a safety matter as well as a performance one.
Is it cheaper to repair or replace a borehole pump?
It depends on what has failed and on the unit. Some pumps are economically repairable - impellers and wear parts can be replaced on certain units. A burnt-out motor, a seized pump or an older unit with limited parts availability usually favours replacement.
Since the major cost is often pulling the pump rather than the part itself, it is worth deciding with the pump on the surface. Use the opportunity to review whether the original sizing was correct before ordering a like-for-like replacement.
How quickly can a borehole repair be done?
It depends on what has failed and what parts are needed. Surface-side faults - pressure switches, vessels, control gear, valves - are often resolved in a single visit.
Anything requiring the pump to come out takes longer, and if a replacement pump has to be sourced to a particular specification, that adds lead time. Diagnosis of an intermittent fault can also take more than one visit, because the fault has to be caught while it is happening.
BOREHOLE NOT WORKING?
Describe the symptoms and get a repair quote based on proper diagnosis.
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Describe what the system is doing and when it started.
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