Air Force Academy Colorado Well Reports

How deep are wells around Air Force Academy?

How much water do wells make near Air Force Academy?

Air Force Academy well depth: plan for a variable hole

The median reported well depth is 296 feet. The middle half runs from 195 to 422 feet, meaning a bid based only on the median can miss the actual drilling conditions on a particular lot. Ten percent of reported wells reach 600 feet or more, and the deepest record is 2,290 feet.

Depth is spread across the area: 11% are under 100 feet, 39% are 100-300 feet, and 40% are 300-600 feet. Permits name unnamed fractured-bedrock aquifers most often, with Denver and Arapahoe aquifers also represented. Sedimentary Denver Basin material and fractured rock can change quickly from one location to the next, so nearby well logs matter more than a countywide assumption.

Expected well yield near Gleneagle and Monument

Reported production is generally workable for a household, but the records do not describe every permitted well. The median pump yield is 11.1 gallons per minute, with the middle half from 9.0 to 14.2 gallons per minute. Seventy-two percent of reported yields fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, while 24% report more than 15 gallons per minute.

No reported wells are under 1 gallon per minute in this dataset, and 4% are in the 1-5 gallon-per-minute range. That does not guarantee a strong well on an untested parcel. Ask for the neighboring well construction, pumping test, storage setup, and permitted use. A licensed driller can also explain how casing, grout, pump size, and storage affect the usable supply.

Water levels show a deeper recent measurement

Among the 78 records reporting a static water level, the median depth to water is 200 feet. The middle half ranges from 95 to 299 feet below the surface. That is a substantial depth for pump design, trenching, and electrical planning, even before the well reaches its total depth.

The decade series moves from a median of 132 feet below surface in the 1970s to 200 feet in the 2010s and 240 feet in the 2020s. The series suggests deeper measured water levels over time, but it is not a complete monitoring record and includes different wells and locations. Treat it as a caution for pump sizing and due diligence, not proof that every local water table is dropping uniformly.

Permit history and drillers around Air Force Academy

Permit activity is concentrated in the late twentieth century. The records show 34 permits in the 1950s, 23 in the 1960s, 218 in the 1970s, 279 in the 1980s, and 428 in the 1990s. Activity then totals 171 permits in the 2000s, 132 in the 2010s, and 77 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2026.

The most frequently recorded drillers are Fletcher Drilling, also listed as Fletcher, Thomas, with 169 wells; W. V. Harding & Sons, listed as Harding, Fred E., with 118; and Hamacher Well Works Inc, listed as Hamacher, Alan Ray, with 114. These records identify local history, not a recommendation. Confirm current licensing, availability, scope, and warranty before hiring.

Air Force Academy well drilling cost estimate

The cost model for this area uses a typical drilling rate of $50-$70 per foot in Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock. At the 296-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $14,800-$20,700. That is only the drilling portion, not the complete water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at $20,800-$32,700 at the median depth. A deeper-than-median hole can exceed that range, particularly where a site requires difficult access, extra casing, or more pumping equipment. Get a written proposal that separates drilling, casing and grout, pump equipment, testing, permits, trenching, electrical, and any dry-hole terms.

Risks to check before buying or building

Water quality deserves specific attention here. Mapped sites within about 10 miles include 91 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 19 historic mine features, and 7 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Those mapped sites do not establish contamination on a particular parcel, but they are a reason to review local records and test an existing well before closing.

Low yield and dry-hole risk remain separate from water quality. A permit record does not guarantee that a well is productive today. Check the well construction, pump test, static level, maintenance history, and laboratory results. Also confirm septic setbacks, replacement-area requirements, access for drilling equipment, and the building department's requirements for a new home. An augmentation plan may be relevant in an over-appropriated basin, depending on the proposed use and permit.

A practical lot review for Palmer Lake and nearby areas

Before committing to land near Air Force Academy, compare several neighboring permits rather than relying on one successful well. Look at total depth, aquifer name, static water level, yield, construction details, and the age of each record. The same approach is useful in Gleneagle, Monument, Woodmoor, Cascade-Chipita Park, Palmer Lake, and Green Mountain Falls.

For a buildable lot, confirm legal water use first, then price the well, pump, storage, power, trenching, and septic work together. If the property has an existing well, collect a current water-quality sample and have the system inspected. For a new well, ask the driller how the bid changes if the hole passes the local depth range. A water-rights professional can address household use, augmentation, and any restrictions tied to the permit.

Well permits by decade near Air Force Academy

What a new well costs in Air Force Academy, CO

How this is built: the median permitted depth here times the per-foot range for this ground, plus the normal system costs. A lot at the 75th-percentile depth (422 ft) would run roughly $27,100–$41,540. See the full Colorado well cost guide.

Environmental sites mapped within about 10 miles

Counts come from EPA, USGS and state datasets layered on the Colorado Well Finder map. A count is not a verdict on any one well; it tells you what to test for.

Buying land near Air Force Academy? Know what it costs to build before you buy the dirt.

A listing photo can't tell you whether a lot is a dream or a money pit. Two parcels near Air Force Academy can carry the same asking price while one needs an $80,000 driveway and a $45,000 engineered septic the other doesn't. The well numbers on this page are the start of that answer. A Tri-Lakes Site Feasibility Report is the rest of it: a licensed general contractor, excavator and septic installer reads the parcel the way we would if we were about to build on it, and puts the real cost in writing before your money is committed.

Spend a little to know. Or gamble a lot to guess. Realtors sell the view and inspectors look at houses that already exist. We're the people who'd build it, so we catch what quietly turns a "great deal" into a budget disaster: bad access, buried rock, steep grade, soil that won't pass for a normal septic, water that's a fortune to reach. And if the lot is good, you've already got a builder ready to do the work, driveway to drywall.

• Instant Online Report, $99 — type the address and get a buildability read on the spot: parcel, terrain and slope, soil and septic outlook. Cheap enough to run on every lot you're shopping.
• Desktop Report, $500 — a contractor's from-the-desk feasibility read: Regulation 43 and county code, GIS parcel data, terrain, flood and drainage, soil and septic viability, setbacks and buildable envelope, nearby well depths from our 591,000-well database, the likely driveway route, and a preliminary site-development cost breakdown.
• On-Site Report, $2,000 — everything above, then boots and a drone on the actual ground: house pad and septic zone located, access and winter conditions checked, rock and soil observed in person, a 15 to 20 page written opinion you can hand a lender or seller. Credited toward your project if you build with us.

Under contract, comparing parcels, or a realtor with a rural listing whose buyers keep asking "what will it cost to build here?" This is the due-diligence step almost everyone skips, and the one that saves the most.

Common questions about wells in Air Force Academy

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