Bore & Spear Testing/Sampling Processes

Through this section, we show you how to take samples, test and evaluate bore/spear water systems.

Bore/Spear water is used throughout Australia for various needs. Gardens, filling pools, providing for stock or agricultural irrigation, and to a lesser extent, for drinking water.

However, Bore/Spear water in majority of cases is not suitable for drinking, or even for agricultural use. It can be high in salinity, iron, dirt/solids, and pH. This can kill plants and lawns, and with bad odour/taste and sometimes even colouration, is not pleasant to drink.

• When contacted to evaluate a customers’ bore/spear system, the first step is to provide an onsite test. This includes; pH, TDS, Hardness, and Iron testing.
• With these results, you can discuss with the customer potential options for correcting the water for their intended use. If required, advise the customer you will need to evaluate the results, and you can then take the time to discuss with the PWSA team to provide a possible solution.
• Before you can advise the client of a suitable solution, a 49-point Laboratory test is required. This is at the expense of the customer. You can advise the customer of this at the time of initial testing, or once you can confirm that there is a good possibility of correcting the water for them.
• If confirmed, you can collect water samples for testing (or have the customer collect and provide for you). When the results are ready, the PWSA team will discuss possible solutions, and you can then provide a quote for the necessary water correction product/services.

Through the following videos, we outline the initial on site water test and show you how to collect a water sample (for the 49-point water test).

On-site Bore/Spear water testing

In the following video, we conduct a bore/spear water test on the customers premises. This includes:

• Collecting the sample
• pH test
• TDS/conductivity test
• Iron test
• Hardness test
• Evaluation of results

For further details, refer to your Operations Manual: Module 4; 5.0 Water Testing

Collecting a Bore/Spear Sample Effectively

The following video will show you how to collect a Bore/Spear water sample for a 49-point Laboratory water test.

It is very important to ensure you do not seal the water container with air in it, otherwise your sample will be ineffective.