Water security for Kent & East Sussex

For most commercial sites, estates, farms and high-usage residential properties — yes, materially. Mains water is rising under Ofwat's PR24 settlement (above-inflation increases announced for 2025-2030) while a borehole's marginal cost is electricity to run the pump, plus annual servicing. Most commercial sites we install pay back the system in 3-7 years and then save indefinitely. We'll give you site-specific numbers as part of the free assessment.

No. Most commercial borehole installations retain the existing mains connection as an automatic back-up. We install a pressure-controlled switchover that draws from the mains the moment borehole supply pressure drops — so a pump issue, a scheduled service window or any other interruption doesn't translate into a site-wide outage. Practically, you have hydraulic diversity (two independent supplies) rather than single-source risk. The switchover hardware is included in the design and commissioning scope on most projects.

It depends on the volume. Below 20 cubic metres per day (about 4,400 gallons), no Environment Agency licence is required — that covers most domestic and small commercial sites. Above 20 m³/day, a Water Resources Abstraction Licence is required. Our Licensing & Consulting division handles the EA application end-to-end as part of the project, including hydrogeological reports.

Most of Kent and East Sussex is officially designated as 'water stressed' by the Environment Agency — that's exactly why a private supply is increasingly attractive for high-usage sites. Designation affects mains water tariffs and licensing complexity, not whether a borehole is technically possible. We assess every site individually using BGS hydrogeology data and our 25 years of regional drilling experience.

From initial site assessment to commissioned borehole is typically 8-16 weeks, depending on whether an EA licence is required and on site access. Drilling itself is usually 2-5 days. We sequence the licensing, hydrogeology and drilling phases so the project moves at the fastest practical pace.

Properly designed boreholes drilled into the chalk aquifer (much of Kent + south East Sussex) draw from groundwater that's relatively insulated from short-term drought. Wealden Clay / Hastings Beds sites in the High Weald require careful design — depth, screen placement, pump setting — but our standard practice is to design for worst-case low-water-table scenarios. Hosepipe bans don't apply to private supplies.

Groundwater quality varies by geology and site. We test every borehole on commissioning and recommend appropriate treatment where needed — typically UV disinfection plus, in some Wealden areas, iron and manganese filtration. For commercial supplies under the Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016, we manage the EHO compliance pathway including ongoing testing schedules.

Yes — open-loop GSHP systems use the same borehole infrastructure to extract heat from groundwater. Particularly efficient in the Kent / East Sussex chalk areas where groundwater stays at a stable 10-12°C year-round. We design dual-purpose systems where it makes sense for the site.

Costs vary with site geology, depth required, daily volume and any treatment needed. Indicative ranges for Kent / East Sussex: small commercial site with simple chalk geology £30-50k; agricultural site with treatment £50-90k; large estate or multi-borehole commercial system £100-150k+. EA licensing fees, hydrogeological reports and ongoing servicing are quoted separately. The free site assessment gives you a written estimate before any commitment. For larger sites that prefer to reduce capital outlay, our Water-as-a-Service model converts the bulk of the project into a fixed monthly fee under a 20-year contract — typically 20-40% below mains rates. There's a small initial capital contribution at the outset, with us funding the rest and owning + operating the infrastructure for the contract term.