What Alamosa Wells Cost, Produce, and Require

How deep are wells around Alamosa?

How much water do wells make near Alamosa?

Alamosa well depth varies across the valley

Alamosa records have a median well depth of 120 feet. The middle half of reported wells runs from 40 to 400 feet, which is a broad range for a local drilling estimate. Forty-four percent are under 100 feet, 25% fall between 100 and 300 feet, 10% are between 300 and 600 feet, and 21% exceed 600 feet.

That spread matters when you request bids. A nearby shallow well may not predict your result, particularly where alluvial materials, sedimentary layers or fractured bedrock change over a short distance. The 90th-percentile depth is 860 feet, and the deepest record is 3,080 feet. A driller should compare neighboring permits, identify the mapped aquifer where available, and explain what happens if the hole must continue beyond the initial estimate.

What Alamosa wells typically produce

Among the 333 records reporting pump yield, the median is 15.0 gallons per minute. The middle half is 12.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute. Sixty-six percent of reported wells produce more than 15 gallons per minute, while 32% produce between 5 and 15 gallons per minute. Only 1% are in the 1-to-5 range, and none are recorded below 1 gallon per minute.

Those figures are encouraging for a household buyer, but the sample is much smaller than the total permit record. Yield also is not the same as storage or water quality. Ask for the well construction report, pump test information and permitted use. A domestic well still needs an appropriate pump, pressure tank and storage arrangement for the home’s actual demand.

Alamosa water levels and the recent record

The 157 records reporting static water level show a median depth to water of 8 feet below the surface. The middle half is only 1 to 11 feet. That shallow water level can reduce pumping lift, but it also makes surface protection, casing, grout and drainage important. A shallow water table is not proof that the water is clean or that a new well will encounter the same conditions.

Measurements from the 2010s have a median of 2 feet below ground, compared with 10 feet in the 2020s. That change suggests water was measured deeper in the more recent decade, although the records may represent different wells, seasons and measurement conditions. Treat it as a reason to review local hydrogeology and current neighboring measurements, not as a precise forecast for one parcel.

Alamosa’s permit history and active drillers

Permit activity has continued for decades. The records include 35 permits from the 1950s, 49 from the 1960s, 479 from the 1970s, 189 from the 1980s, 466 from the 1990s, 393 from the 2000s, 322 from the 2010s and 206 from the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025. Domestic or household use accounts for 68% of the use mix; stock is 19%, irrigation is 5% and monitoring is 16%.

The most active drillers named in these records are Authorized (Pe, Pg), with 161 wells; Rocky Mountain Waterworks LLC (Phythian, Donald L.), with 128; and Valley Pump Company (Self, Clinton L.), with 109. These records identify permit history, not a recommendation. Confirm current licensing, insurance, references and the exact scope of any proposal.

Alamosa well drilling cost and finished-system budget

For the mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground around Alamosa, the drilling model uses a typical rate of $50 to $75 per foot. At the 120-foot median depth, the drilled hole alone is estimated at about $6,000 to $9,000. A finished system, including pump, tank, trenching and electrical, is estimated at about $12,000 to $21,000.

That is a planning range, not a fixed quote. A property needing a deeper hole can move well beyond the median budget, and difficult access, extra casing, grouting, water testing, treatment or unusual electrical work may add cost. Have the bid state the per-foot rate, casing and grout assumptions, pump equipment, trench length, electrical work, testing, permits and the charge if the first hole is unsuccessful.

Alamosa risks to check before you build

The main practical risks are not limited to depth. A low-yield or dry hole is possible on any untested lot, and the broad local depth range means one neighbor’s result is not a guarantee. Check the aquifer named on nearby permits: 1,429 records identify an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer, 461 identify the Confined San Luis Valley aquifer, and 333 identify the Unconfined San Luis Valley aquifer.

Environmental review also matters. Within about 10 miles, the map includes 11 PFAS sampling or contamination sites and 2 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. There are no historic mine features in the mapped facts. Order current water testing and locate potential contamination sources. Confirm separation between the well, septic system and building area, and verify that the lot can support the required septic design, access and drainage before construction.

A practical plan for an Alamosa lot

Start with the Colorado DWR permit file and the closest completed wells, not just a countywide average. Compare depth, construction, aquifer description, reported yield and static water level. Properties near Alamosa East may offer the most directly relevant comparison; records around Mosca, La Jara, Sanford, Monte Vista and Capulin can provide broader regional context, but they are farther away.

Before closing, make the well permit and water-use rights part of the review. An exempt household-use well has defined limits, including the 35-gallon-per-minute pumping limit, and an over-appropriated basin may require an augmentation plan for some uses. For a new build, coordinate the well location, septic field, driveway, utility trench and house pad before excavation. Get a written drilling proposal with a clear dry-hole and completion policy.

Well permits by decade near Alamosa

What a new well costs in Alamosa, 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 (400 ft) would run roughly $26,000–$42,000. 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 Alamosa? 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 Alamosa 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 Alamosa

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More in Alamosa County

All wells in Alamosa County — county-wide depth, yield and cost figures.

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