Terms of Service

About these terms

These terms apply to the use of this website and to any surveying, drilling, installation, testing, distribution, maintenance or advisory work supplied by PureDrops Drillers. Where a signed quotation, service agreement or written contract exists for a project, that document takes priority over these terms, and these terms apply to anything it does not cover.

By requesting a quotation, accepting a quotation, or instructing us to carry out work, you confirm that you have read these terms and agree to be bound by them.

Scope of our services

PureDrops Drillers provides a complete groundwater service, which may include any of the following depending on the project:

• Hydrogeological and geophysical site surveys, including resistivity profiling and target-depth estimation
• Borehole drilling, casing, grouting, development and borehole construction
• Step and constant-rate yield testing, and the preparation of a yield test report
• Supply and installation of pumps, rising mains, wellheads, control panels and protection
• Design, supply and installation of solar photovoltaic pumping systems, inverters and batteries
• Water sampling, accredited laboratory analysis and interpretation of the results
• Storage tanks, reticulation, tap stands, valves, meters and distribution works
• Servicing, maintenance contracts, call-outs and borehole rehabilitation
• Permit and compliance documentation, and the handover pack for the completed installation

We perform the work with reasonable skill and care, in accordance with the specification agreed with you, using suitably qualified staff and equipment appropriate to the work.

Quotations are estimates until a survey confirms the site

A quotation issued before a survey has been carried out is an estimate. It is prepared from the information you have given us — the location, the intended use, the demand and the water source you already have — together with our experience of the geology in that area. It is not a fixed price for a specific depth, because the depth has not yet been established.

Depth, casing schedule, pump specification, and the final price are confirmed in writing after the survey, and where required after test results. If the survey or the borehole shows that the work must differ from the original estimate — a deeper borehole, thicker casing, a different pump, an extra mobilisation — we will explain the change and the cost before proceeding. A quotation is valid for the period stated on it; after that it may be reissued.

Borehole yield and depth cannot be guaranteed before drilling

Groundwater is a natural resource. The presence, depth, quality and sustainable yield of water in any formation cannot be known with certainty until the ground has been investigated and the borehole has been drilled and tested. We do not guarantee a yield, a depth or a water quality before drilling.

What we commit to is the process and the record: we survey before we drill, we log every metre, we test the completed borehole, we size the pump on measured yield rather than on expectation, and we report the result honestly in the yield test report and handover documentation. Where a separately commissioned survey is carried out and no water-bearing formation is encountered within the agreed investigation depth, the cost and outcome of that survey are governed by the signed survey agreement.

Your responsibilities for the site

A borehole can only be drilled safely and lawfully where the site is ready. Unless we agree otherwise in writing, you are responsible for:

• Confirming that you hold the right to drill on the land, and any consent required from the owner, the occupier or the community
• Obtaining the water use permit, or confirming that one is not required, before abstraction begins
• Providing clear, safe and continuous site access for the rig, support vehicles and crew — including gate width, turning radius, load-bearing ground, overhead clearance and a route that can carry a truck-mounted rig
• Marking buried services, pipes, cables, tanks and septic systems, and confirming the location of structures such as buildings, boreholes and water tanks
• Supplying water, electricity or other services that we reasonably require for the works, where these are not included in the quotation
• Securing the site and our equipment against theft and interference, and taking responsibility for loss or damage caused by your site arrangements
• Ensuring that the site is free of hazards, and instructing us to stop work where conditions become unsafe
• Making arrangements for the disposal of drill cuttings and for the rehabilitation of the site
• Operating, protecting and maintaining the installation in accordance with the handover documentation, and arranging the servicing that keeps the borehole productive

Where site conditions differ materially from what was described to us, or access is not provided as required, we may suspend the works, and additional cost and time may be charged.

Water quality testing and its limits

Water samples are analysed at the time of collection, and the certificate of analysis describes the sample as taken, from the depth and location stated, on the date stated. It is a snapshot, not a standing guarantee.

A borehole's water quality can change over time, and can be affected by seasonal variation, by contamination near the site, by the condition of the wellhead and pipework, and by events affecting the aquifer. Our results therefore do not guarantee the future quality of the water, and they are not a substitute for your own ongoing monitoring. We recommend re-testing after any significant event, after the borehole is re-developed or rehabilitated, and at the interval set out in your maintenance programme.

Where a result falls outside the applicable drinking-water standard, we advise on the cause and on the treatment options available. Treatment design, additional equipment and the cost of achieving compliance are not part of the drilling scope unless they are expressly quoted.

Equipment, warranty and maintenance

Pumps, panels, inverters, batteries, tanks and control equipment supplied by us carry the manufacturer's warranty for the period stated on the quotation or invoice. The warranty does not cover damage or failure caused by misuse, incorrect electrical supply, running the pump outside its rated duty point, operating above the tested yield, running the pump dry, flooding of the motor, or by the absence of the servicing that the manufacturer requires.

We strongly recommend an annual maintenance contract, and remote and off-grid installations in particular depend on it. A borehole that is never serviced, never re-developed and never re-tested will lose performance. Where you maintain the installation yourself, we will provide the operating and maintenance manual, the yield test report and any reasonable advice you need.

Intellectual property

Our survey drawings, interpretations, borehole logs, yield reports, methodologies, software, document templates, trade names and logos remain our property. We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the deliverables we produce for you in connection with the specific project for which they were produced, once the project has been paid for in full.

You may not resell, republish or commercially exploit our documentation, use it to tender for unrelated work, or use it to instruct a third party, without our written consent. Ownership of the borehole, the pump, the installation and the completed works passes to you on payment in full.

Confidentiality

Each of us will keep the other's confidential information confidential and will use it only for the project it relates to. This obligation continues for the period the information remains commercially sensitive. It does not apply to information that is already public, that we must disclose to a regulator or authority, or that we are required to disclose by law.

Payment

The price, deposit, stage payments, payment milestones and payment terms are set out in the quotation or the contract for the project. Work may be suspended if payment is overdue. Interest may be charged on overdue amounts at the rate stated in the contract, or at the maximum rate permitted by law where the contract is silent.

Liability

Our total liability arising out of or in connection with the services we provide is limited to the total amount you have paid us for the project giving rise to the claim. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including loss of production, loss of profit, loss of business or contract opportunity, loss of anticipated savings, or loss of anticipated water supply, even where that loss was foreseeable.

Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, for any liability that cannot lawfully be limited, or for anything arising from our fraud, wilful misconduct or gross negligence.

Force majeure

Neither party is liable for a failure to perform caused by an event beyond its reasonable control, including extreme weather, flooding, drought, war, civil unrest, epidemic, strike, government action, or the withdrawal of a permit or access. Where such an event delays the works, the programme and any cost consequences are handled under the contract for the project.

Governing law and disputes

These terms, and any dispute arising out of them or out of the work we do for you, are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa, and the courts of South Africa have jurisdiction. The parties will first attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute by negotiation, and then by mediation, before commencing proceedings.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The “last updated” date at the top of this page shows when they were last revised. The version published at the time your project was quoted and instructed applies to that project. Continuing to use this website after a change means you accept the revised terms.

Contacting us

Questions about these terms can be sent to PureDrops Drillers using the details below, or through the contact form.

• Email: info@hydrodrillafrica.com