More South African households are turning to ground water from their gardens for their main water supply

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However, the number of boreholes is not on the increase as existing ones are drying up at the same rate as new installations.

"Yes, more boreholes are on stream because people are looking for new ways to get water, but due to the drought, existing boreholes are drying up, so we are actually at an equilibrium," Department of Water and Sanitation spokesman Sputnik Ratau said yesterday.

Blue River Drilling, which specializes in drilling boreholes in Johannesburg, has seen an increase in demand for boreholes in the past few months.