South Africans trying to beat the drought should be looking down instead of up. Ground water, according to experts, is an under-used resource that could provide relief to dry communities across South Africa.The Water Resource Commission and borehole operators have already reported increased demand for boreholes which, says WRC's hydrologist Shafick Adams, is usual for a drought cycle.Last year was the driest since rainfall records began in 1904, and dams across the country are at their lowest levels in years, standing at only 53% nationwide.Adams' commission has established a national strategy that seeks to better manage ground water in the long term."At the moment we are using less than half the water available," said Adams."We encourage users to have more ground water in the mix," which would include harvesting rainwater and "grey" water.Adams added that Pretoriarecieved between 8% and 10% of its water from boreholes. And the water quality is good.Adams said part of the national strategy was to move drilling for water on a large-scale operation to smaller-scale operations for the better servicing of communities.Borehole operator Albertus Lombaard, of Aqua Earth, said he had seen an increase in demand for boreholes because of the drought but had not had to drill deeper for water."Once you have good rains you get good recharge," he said.Deep wells in Gauteng and North West are between 120m and 150m deep. Some parts of Limpopo need wells of over 200m to draw water.The deepest borehole he knows of is in Botswana.'That one is 700m," he said."Across South Africa you can find a solution 99% of the time and you will be able to drill for water," Lombaard said.Scientific predictions for the summer suggest there is no guarantee there will be enough rain to improve the position.- Additional reporting by Jan-Jan Joubert..