Water Bore Drilling & Installation in Perth — questions and answers
The questions Perth homeowners actually ask about bores, answered with figures from named sources. Cost, the watering rules that still apply to bore users, and what your ground means for the job.
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How much does water bore drilling cost in Perth?
Nobody can price a Perth bore honestly from a postcode, so this site publishes no job prices. Four things decide the cost, and you can check three of them yourself. Depth: the WA Government's Perth groundwater map estimates the depth to the watertable and to the base of the Superficial aquifer for your address. Ground: sand on the coastal plain, rock in the Hills. Access: whether a rig can reach the spot. Water quality: the same map shows iron staining risk, acid sulphate soil risk and salinity. Two limits on where a bore is sensible come from the Department's guidance: land within 200 m of the ocean or the Swan River Estuary, and areas in and around the Perth foothills, are both listed as generally unsuitable. The costs page's Water bore drilling costs and rules check gives the WA Government's garden bore lines, each with its source and the date it was read.
What government fees apply to a bore?
For an ordinary household garden bore Western Australia does not require a licence for a garden bore watering under 2,000 m² of domestic garden and lawn from the shallow watertable aquifer, so there is no application for the Department to charge an assessment fee on. Where an application to construct or alter a well is needed, the Department's page of fees for water applications, last updated 18 May 2023, lists an assessment fee of A$172 at low risk, A$215 at medium risk and A$269 at high risk. That page describes its fee structure as the one for the mining and public water supply sectors, so ask the Department on 1800 508 885 what applies to you. The one penalty a household can meet is the A$100 sprinkler fine.
Water bores in Perth
What a garden bore asks of you, before and after the drill
Five points where the ground or the watering rules decide what you do, from choosing the spot to the winter switch-off.
Check the ground at your address
200 m
from the ocean or the river estuary, where saltwater intrusion makes bores generally unsuitable
The Perth groundwater map shows, for an address, whether a bore suits the area, the depth to the watertable and the salinity.
Source: WA Government (DWER), Garden bores: frequently asked questions · read
Size the garden before the bore
2,000 m²
the garden and lawn area a household bore must stay under
A larger area, commercial use or water from an artesian aquifer needs the Department's approval first.
Source: WA Government (DWER), Garden bores: frequently asked questions · read
Keep the test runs short
2 minutes
per station while a system is installed, tested or repaired
Longer may be treated as watering the garden, so test on a rostered day and outside the daytime hours sprinklers are banned.
Source: WA Government (DWER), Check garden bore water restrictions · read
Set the run time by measurement
10 mm
the application a summer run should reach on Perth's sandy soils
Catch cups show what each station puts down, and a Waterwise Irrigation Design Shop gives a set free.
Source: WA Government (DWER), Garden bores: frequently asked questions · read
Switch off for winter
1 June – 31 August
no sprinklers each year, bore water included
A new lawn or garden needs a temporary exemption before it is watered in the switch-off or outside the roster.
Source: WA Government (DWER), Check garden bore water restrictions · read
Each step names its source and the date it was read. The map and the rules are the WA Government's; your own block settles the answer.
Process
How deep is a water bore in Perth?
It depends on your address. The WA Government publishes a Perth groundwater map showing, for a property address, the estimated depth to the watertable and to the base of the Superficial aquifer, and it describes that base as the maximum allowable bore depth for non-commercial use without the Department's approval. That makes depth an address question rather than a suburb one. The method changes with the ground as well: on the coastal plain sand a bore is drilled, cased, screened and gravel-packed, while in the Kalamunda and Roleystone hills the rig is a pneumatic hammer working into laterite and granite, where water sits in fractures rather than in sand. The map is an estimate, and the dataset behind its iron staining layer notes that coverage thins close to the Darling Scarp, so treat it as the first check rather than the last.
Can I water any day I like if I have a bore?
No. Garden bore users in Perth are on the sprinkler roster exactly as scheme water users are: two rostered days a week, set by the last digit of your house number, and sprinklers once a day either before 9am or after 6pm, from 1 September to 31 May. A sprinkler switch-off applies from 1 June to 31 August each year, when sprinklers cannot be used at all. Anyone found using sprinklers between 9am and 6pm, during the switch-off, or outside their rostered days can be fined A$100, and the Water Corporation enforces it. A bore changes what you pay for the water, not when you are allowed to put it on the lawn.
Timing
How quickly can someone get to me?
Enquiries are passed to a Perth bore contractor, who contacts you directly. Whoever calls you back works your part of the metropolitan area, because a Hills job and a coastal-plain job are not the same rig and not always the same operator.
What records should I get when the bore is finished?
A bore log. The WA Government says an accredited driller will provide one recording the bore's depth, soil composition, yield and the pump's make and model, and advises keeping it with your house plans because it can be invaluable to you or a later owner. Where a bore was built under an application to construct or alter a well, the Department asks for its own bore log form within one month of completion. Keep the log with the address in mind: it is the only record of what the ground actually did at your block.
Permits and approvals
Do I need a licence for a garden bore in Perth?
Generally no — Western Australia does not require a licence for a garden bore watering under 2,000 m² of domestic garden and lawn from the shallow watertable aquifer. Three conditions have to hold together, and page copy that collapses them into one is doing you a disservice: the use is domestic rather than commercial, the area watered is under 2,000 m², and the water comes from the shallow watertable rather than an artesian aquifer. Above 2,000 m², for commercial use, or on an artesian aquifer, a licence is required and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is who issues it. The WA Government states the exemption as a general position rather than an absolute one, so your own block and your own use are what settle it.
Source: WA Government — garden bores, frequently asked questions
Service area
Which suburbs do you cover?
We cover the Perth metropolitan area, and the four corridors on the Suburbs page are the ones we describe in detail because they drill differently: Joondalup–Wanneroo and Canning Vale–Armadale on the sand plain, Kalamunda–Roleystone in the hills, and Ballajura–Malaga where the retic is usually the reason for the call. If your suburb is not named, ring and ask rather than assuming — the boundary is about ground and access, not about a list.
Who am I actually calling?
This site is operated by a marketing company, not by a drilling contractor. We take your enquiry and pass it to a Perth bore contractor who covers your area, and we are paid by that provider for the connection — you are not charged anything. We do not drill, we do not hold any trade accreditation ourselves, and we do not quote your job. The contractor who calls you does all three.
Thanks — we have your enquiry. Someone will be in touch shortly. Prefer to talk now? Call (08) 6311 4037.
Last reviewed · Updated · First published