The best borehole pump depends on your situation, your borehole diameter, how deep the water sits, how much flow you need and what you are using it for. But to make it simple, we have broken it down here into some of the best, and what each one is for. All three are made by Umbra Pompe, the Italian borehole specialist we rate most highly, and all are held in UK stock.
All of the pumps below are suitable for industrial, agricultural, processing, potable water, irrigation and spraying applications, and have a maximum submersion depth of 17m.
1. The best all-rounder: Umbra Pompe Acuatec
If you want one pump that does most things well, the Umbra Pompe Acuatec is the best borehole pump. It is a 5 inch multi-stage borehole pump designed to give a balanced blend of pressure and flow, rather than being weighted heavily to one or the other.
Across the range there are different models with flow rates from 90 to 135 litres per minute (model dependent) with head heights ranging 33 and 75 metres, through a 1¼ inch (32mm) outlet, for clean water and for water carrying up to 60 g/m³ of suspended solids. It is happy in real boreholes that are not perfectly clean.
For a irrigation or general use where you are not sure exactly which way to lean, the Acuatec is the safe, capable all-rounder.
2. The best budget or entry-level 4 inch borehole pump: Umbra Pompe Eurojet
If you have a standard 4 inch borehole and want reliable performance without overspending, the Umbra Pompe Eurojet is the one. This multi-stage pump fits 4 inch and larger boreholes and delivers around 46 litres per minute, and the pump has a maximum 60 metres of head. The pump is available in manual or automatic. With a 1 inch (25mm) outlet and a 0.55kW motor on a standard 230V supply, and rated for clean water, it is the straightforward, good-value entry point into a borehole pump, ideal for a modest private supply or garden irrigation.
3. The best for high flow: Umbra Pompe Acuabig
When you need to move larger quantities of water, the Umbra Pompe Acuabig is built for it.
It is a 5 inch multi-stage borehole pump with the largest outlet in the range, a 2 inch outlet, and the highest flow - max flow rate of 195 litres per minute, with a maximum head of between 27-75m depending on the model. The bigger outlet and higher flow make it the choice for larger irrigation systems, pumping longer distances, filling tanks and bowsers quickly, or any job where volume matters most. Like the others it is clean-water rated and handles suspended solids (max 60 g/m³ particles), so it works in real-world boreholes. The pump has a maximum submersion depth of 17m.
The "best" still has to be right for your site
Here is the important bit. This guide points you to the best pump for each broad need, but the truly right pump is the one that suits your use and your specific site. What matters is where the pump sits on its performance curve at your depth and flow, because a pump only delivers its rated flow at a given head, not the headline maximum. You can learn how to read that in how to read a pump curve and choose the right pump, or let our water pump performance calculator do the sums for you, it factors in friction loss using the Hazen-Williams equation and shows you the duty point.
It is also worth knowing what is actually down your borehole before you buy. Our guide on using BGS borehole records to choose a borehole pump shows how, and for the full picture, start with our how to choose a well or borehole pump UK buying guide.
A note on drinking water and WRAS
Umbra Pompe describe these pumps as suitable for potable (drinking) water, which refers to the materials they are made from. They are not, however, WRAS approved. WRAS approval applies to fittings connected to the public mains water supply, and is not normally required for a private borehole, which is a separate supply.
If you are supplying drinking water, make sure the whole system, not just the pump, is suitable and, where relevant, tested.
Understanding and Comparing Flow Rates
Flow rate is how much water a pump moves in a given time, usually measured in litres per minute. It is the headline number on most pumps, but on its own it can be hard to picture.
The easiest way to make sense of it is to compare it to something everyday: a garden hose. A standard half-inch (13mm) garden hose delivers roughly 12 to 18 litres per minute at normal UK mains pressure (approx 1 bar or 10m head), so a pump quoted at 70 litres per minute is moving water about four to five garden hoses' worth.
Typical flow rates around the home
Flow varies a lot with pressure and with the fitting itself, and many taps are deliberately restricted to save water. Here are the typical figures:
| Water source | Typical flow rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen tap | 4 to 6 litres/min | Often flow-restricted for water efficiency |
| Water company minimum | 9 litres/min | Guaranteed at the boundary stop tap |
| Garden hose (half-inch) | 12 to 18 litres/min | The common benchmark |
| Bath tap | 15+ litres/min | Over 15 litres/min is considered good |
| Outside tap, no hose | 20+ litres/min | The hose itself is the main restriction |
Severn Trent Water state the minimum simply: your tap should fill a one-litre jug in around 7 seconds, which is a flow rate of about 9 litres per minute. That meets their minimum target of 7 metres head (0.7 bar) of pressure and 9 litres per minute at the boundary stop tap (Severn Trent Water).
Flow rate is not the same as pressure
It is worth being clear on the difference. Flow rate is how much water comes out; pressure is how hard it pushes. UK household mains pressure is typically 1 to 4 bar, with most homes around 2 to 3 bar, and a useful conversion is that 1 bar is roughly 10 metres of head. A pump has to provide both the flow and the pressure (head) your job needs, which is why we talk about flow and head together.
The catch: the quoted flow is not what you always get
Here is the important part. Just like a garden hose, a pump's flow depends on what it is pushing against. A hose's output drops with lower pressure, a smaller diameter, a longer run, kinks or a nozzle on the end, and a pump behaves the same way once you connect real pipework. The resistance, or friction loss, in the hose and fittings eats into the flow, so a pump almost always delivers less than its headline maximum in practice. It is the single most common reason a pump seems to underperform: a long, thin or coiled hose is quietly reducing the flow rate.
To see what a pump will actually deliver through your hose, our water pump performance calculator works out the friction loss for your hose length and diameter and shows the real duty point.
To understand why flow falls as resistance rises, read how to read a pump curve and why a pump's max flow is not its real flow, and for the hose itself, how hose length and diameter affect pump performance.
See the full range
These three cover most needs, but there is more in the full well and borehole pump range, including higher-head models for deep wells. floodandwaterpumps.co.uk is a leading UK supplier of submersible and specialist pumps, including well and borehole pumps and pumps for irrigation, and if you are watering a garden or land from a borehole, our guide to choosing a pump for garden and agricultural irrigation is a good next read.
Looking to order a borehole pump? Either order online or place your order by phone on 0115 987 0358.
