Environmental & Geotech Drilling

Backyard Bores & Geotech Drilling Pty Ltd are your Geotechnical & Environmental Drilling specialists in the Mackay region.

We offer the following environmental drilling and geotechnical products and capabilities:

• Contaminated soil/sand sampling (including asbestos) with equipment decon (Environmental Management Register and Contaminated Land Register listed sites)
• Drilling and installing piezometer monitoring wells up to 60m depth
• NDD, SPT (Standard Penetration Testing), DCP (Dynamic Cone Penetrometer), Geoprobe and push tubes, split spoon and auger sampling (AS1289, AS1726-2017, ASTM D3441 - ASTM D1586 - 08a)
• Auger drilling from 80mm to 250mm dia, continuous flight and hollow stem
• Rotary air (rock) drilling from 100mm to 300mm dia
• Specialist PFAS / PFOA (fire fighting foam) contaminated soil sampling and environmental drilling
• Test pumping of bores to Australian Standard AS2368–1990 Test Pumping of Water Wells from 2 hours to 28 days in duration. Includes creation of official documents for council requirements of subdivisions (Development Approval for 0.3L/s over 6 hour period with recovery)
• Flow rate logging and data analysis from 0.1L/s to 100L/s
• Water level logging from hours during a pump test to years in situ with data capture, transmission and analysis
• Water quality testing for salt (TDS & conductivity), iron (TDI), pH, free chlorine, total hardness & alkalinity
• Comprehensive drinking water testing can be arranged (pesticides, heavy metals, trace elements, PFAS, PFOA etc.)
• Well development using a combination of over pumping, surging or air lifting to protect the natural water table
• Production well (steel and PVC) investigation and cleaning
• Downhole camera inspections and video reports
• Decommissioning bores & wells
• Deep earthing, drilling for installation of earthing rods at substations
• Cathodic protection and pre-cannistered anode/cable installation for fuel oil pipelines

Please call us on 1800 193 194 to see how we can help your project reach successful completion.

1 Quote, 1 Invoice

Let Backyard Bores and Geotech Drilling reduce your paperwork and administrative overhead by providing you with one quote to cover NDD, underground utility locating, concrete cutting and coring, drilling, providing samples and installing monitoring wells.

We have a long-term working relationship with Mackay's best:

• NDD (vacuum truck) company
• Underground utility locators with GPR (ground penetrating radar)
• Concrete cutter and corer (up to 300mm thick)

Experience, skills & local knowledge

Backyard Bores & Geotech Drilling Pty Ltd have drilled thousands of soil sampling and groundwater test holes and installed hundreds of groundwater monitoring wells between Bowen and Rockhampton over the last 20 years.

We have drilled and installed 4 times* the number of monitoring wells around Mackay compared to any other drilling company. Why? Because our team uses the right equipment with the right processes and the methods for the right reason by utilising wisdom, judgment and discretion in the pursuit of your project's goals.

(*Jul 2023 Queensland Spatial Data extract)

Licensed drillers - Every monitoring well logged

Backyard Bores & Geotech Drilling Pty Ltd have Queensland licensed drillers, and we log every monitoring well we drill as required by the obligation of our licenses. Ask the other drilling companies quoting on jobs if they are using a licensed driller and if that driller logs EVERY monitoring well. Consequences for all involved in not logging monitoring wells are harsh.

Every monitoring well deeper than 6m MUST be drilled by a licensed driller, and a log submitted.

Workplace Health & Risk

We care about our team's health and risk levels at work and have WH&R Policies and Procedures, WH&R Plans, SWMS, and JRAs that put the crew first. As of January 2024, we have a zero lost time injury rate since 2012.

PFAS PFOS Firefighting Foam

We have drilled hundreds of soil sampling and groundwater test holes and installed dozens of groundwater monitoring wells in suspected/confirmed PFAS / PFOA areas. Our rigorous PFAS drilling quality control process allows for the most accurate samples possible.

Call us on 1800 193 194 for more information.

Past Project Partners

Backyard Bores & Geotech Drilling Pty Ltd have successfully completed works for the following:

• Mackay Regional Council
• Isaac Regional Council
• Whitsunday Regional Council
• Kleinfelder Environmental Consultants
• CatCon Engineering & Construction
• OWAD Environment
• Cardno Geotechnic Services
• Environmental Management and Remediation Pty Ltd
• Ogilvie Civil & Mining
• Environmental Earth Sciences
• Coffey Geotechnics
• Douglas Partners
• GHD
• CQG
• EPIC Environmental
• North Queensland Airports Group (Mackay Airport)
• North Queensland Bulk Ports
• Caltex, Mobil, Puma, Origin Gas, Ergon
• Onesteel
• Aurizon
• Sibelco Australia
• Prensa
• Urbex
• AESTEC
• ATOM - Australian Terminal Operations Management
• Auscor
• CMW Geosciences
• Wilmar
• BP Australia
• AECOM
• Rock n Road Bitumen
• UGM
• Abbot Point Operations
• East Point Developments

Standard Details We Require to Provide a Quote

• Number of holes to drill
• Number of monitoring wells to install
• Physical address or GPS of the drilling sites
• Is concrete cutting or coring required
• Is vacuum NDD required or hand auger to 1m or 1.5m
• Protruding monument or flush mount Gatic cover
• Bollards required
• What type of sampling is required (from auger at depth, push tube, split spoon)
• What depths and frequencies are these samples required
• Is stem/equipment decon required between holes, and what type of decon is preferred
• Estimated completion dates of work
• What paperwork (SWMS, JRA, WH&R) is required
• What off/on site inductions are our crew required to undertake
• Are there any site specific PPE requirements
• Are there any drilling rig limitations