Wellpoint Installation
South Africa

A wellpoint is a small-diameter pipe driven or jetted into shallow, saturated sand, with a perforated point at the bottom and a suction pump at the surface. It is a much smaller undertaking than a borehole, it costs considerably less, and in the right ground it will water a garden perfectly well.

The catch is in that last phrase. Wellpoints only work where the ground suits them, and that means a fairly specific set of areas. Where the geology is right, a wellpoint is often the sensible choice. Where it is not, no amount of trying will make one work.

How a Wellpoint Works

1. 1A small-diameter pipe with a screened or perforated point at its base is driven, jetted or augered into the ground.
2. 2It penetrates into the saturated sand below the water table - typically only a matter of metres, not the tens of metres a borehole reaches.
3. 3A surface pump connected at the top draws water up by suction.
4. 4Water is delivered to irrigation, a tank or a garden tap.

The defining constraint is that a surface pump lifts by suction, and suction lift is limited by atmospheric pressure to roughly seven or eight metres in practice - often less, allowing for pipe friction and any air leakage. If the water table sits below that, a wellpoint cannot work regardless of how much water is down there. This is why wellpoints are confined to areas with a genuinely shallow water table.

Where Wellpoints Work

Wellpoints suit unconsolidated sandy ground with a shallow water table, which broadly means the sandy areas of the Cape Flats, the West Coast strip, the KwaZulu-Natal coastal belt and parts of the coastal plain generally. The Cape Flats aquifer is a primary aquifer - water occupies the pore spaces of the sand rather than sitting in fractures - and it is often within suction range.

They do not work in hard rock. On the mountain slopes, across the Table Mountain Group sandstone, in the granite and quartzite areas of Gauteng and in the tillite inland of Durban, the ground cannot be penetrated by driving or jetting and the water table is generally too deep for suction lift. In those areas a borehole is the only option.

Points toward a wellpoint	Points toward a borehole
Sandy, unconsolidated ground	Hard rock, or rock near the surface
Shallow water table, within suction lift	Water table deeper than around seven metres
Garden and lawn irrigation is the main use	Household supply or higher-volume demand
Modest flow requirement	Sustained or high flow required
Lower budget, quicker installation	Long-term supply, higher reliability required
Neighbouring properties have working wellpoints	Neighbouring wellpoints have failed or run seasonally dry

Wellpoint Versus Borehole

	Wellpoint	Borehole
Depth	Shallow - metres	Deep - typically tens of metres
Installation	Driven, jetted or augered; small equipment, quick	Drilling rig; a larger operation
Cost	Substantially lower	Substantially higher
Pump	Surface pump, limited by suction lift	Submersible pump, no suction limit
Typical yield	Modest - suits garden irrigation	Variable, but can be considerably higher
Seasonal reliability	More affected; water table drops in dry months	Less affected, though not immune
Water quality	Shallow water, more exposed to surface contamination	Deeper water, generally better protected if properly sealed
Lifespan and maintenance	Points silt up and clog; may need replacing periodically	Longer-lived where properly constructed and maintained
Suitable for household supply	Generally not - usually garden use only	Possible with testing and treatment
Where it works	Sandy areas with a shallow water table only	Most geology, given adequate access

Realistic Expectations

A wellpoint is a modest, useful piece of infrastructure, and it is worth being clear about what it is not:

• Yields are modest. Adequate for a garden, generally not for household supply or substantial irrigation.
• Output varies seasonally. The water table in a shallow sandy aquifer falls through summer - exactly when you want the water most. Some wellpoints slow noticeably or run dry in late summer.
• Suction lift is a hard ceiling. If the water table drops below the pump's suction capability, output stops regardless of the water present.
• Points clog over time. Fine sand and iron deposits gradually block the screen. A wellpoint is more of a consumable than a borehole, and eventual replacement or reinstallation should be expected.
• Water quality is more exposed. Shallow groundwater is closer to surface influences - septic systems, soakaways, fertiliser and stormwater. This is a significant reason wellpoints are generally kept to garden use.
• Sand in the water is common, which wears pump impellers and blocks irrigation emitters.
• Not every attempt succeeds. Even in a suitable area, a point can hit clay or fail to yield adequately.

Getting the Best From a Wellpoint

• Position it clear of septic tanks, soakaways, French drains and stormwater, since shallow water is easily influenced
• Use a pump matched to the suction lift and the modest flow, rather than an oversized unit that will simply draw air
• Prime the pump properly and keep the suction line airtight - air leaks are the most common cause of a wellpoint that will not draw
• Fit a foot valve or non-return so the suction line holds its prime between uses
• Filter the water before irrigation emitters, since sand is common and blocks drippers quickly
• Do not run it continuously through the hottest part of summer if output is falling; that is the wellpoint telling you the water table has dropped
• Register it - most municipalities apply the same registration requirement to wellpoints as to boreholes
• Mark outlets clearly as non-potable, since wellpoint water should not be assumed safe to drink

Common Wellpoint Problems

Symptom	Usual cause
Pump runs but draws nothing	Lost prime, an air leak in the suction line, a failed foot valve, or the water table has dropped below suction lift.
Flow reducing over months or years	The point is silting or clogging with fine sand and iron deposits. Sometimes recoverable by flushing; often means reinstallation.
Strong at first, then fades within minutes	Drawing down faster than the sand around the point can replenish. Usually means the pump is too large for what the point supports.
Sand in the water	Common with wellpoints. Filtration protects the pump and irrigation, but heavy sand suggests a screening problem at the point.
Works in winter, dry in summer	Seasonal water table decline. The point may be too shallow, or the aquifer is simply at its limit in that area.
Pump losing prime between uses	Failed foot valve or a leak somewhere on the suction side.

What Affects Wellpoint Cost

• Depth required to reach and penetrate the saturated sand
• Ground conditions and whether obstructions such as clay layers or buried rubble are encountered
• Installation method - driven, jetted or augered
• Whether the pump is included, and its specification
• Pipework and connection to irrigation or a tank
• Whether filtration is fitted to handle sand
• Site access to the installation position
• Whether more than one point is installed, which is sometimes done to increase available flow

A wellpoint is a fraction of the cost of a borehole, which is the main reason to consider one. But if your area does not suit it, spending less on something that will not work is not an economy - and a proper assessment of the ground is the first thing to establish.

Related Services

If your ground turns out not to suit a wellpoint - hard rock, or a water table below suction lift - then a borehole is the alternative. Borehole Installers South Africa covers what that involves, how deep it typically goes and what drives the cost.

What a Wellpoint Costs in South Africa

This is the reason to consider a wellpoint at all - where the ground genuinely suits one, it waters a garden for a small fraction of a borehole. Installers publish fairly consistent pricing for these, so the ranges here are tighter than elsewhere on the site.

Item	Indicative range	What moves it
Standard wellpoint installed with pump	R6,500 – R10,000	Typically includes the point, a self-priming surface pump, non-return valve and outlet. Published rates cluster closely here.
Additional point on the same property	R2,500 – R5,000	Sometimes installed in pairs where a single point yields poorly.
No-water or unsuccessful attempt fee	R2,750 – R3,800	Charged where the attempt fails. Ask about this before work starts - it is standard practice, not a penalty.
Pump upgrade	R2,000 – R7,000	Larger self-priming unit. Remember suction lift caps what any surface pump can do.
Sediment filtration	R800 – R4,000	Sand is common on wellpoints and blocks irrigation emitters quickly.
Reinstallation of a clogged point	R3,500 – R8,000	Points silt up over time. Treat this as a periodic cost rather than a fault.
For comparison: a borehole	R55,000 – R220,000+	See borehole drilling costs. Far higher, but works in most geology and yields much more.

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