Altona, Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost

How deep are wells around Altona?

How much water do wells make near Altona?

Altona Well Depth Reflects Fractured Mountain Ground

The median well depth around Altona is 225 feet. The middle half runs from 72 to 405 feet, which is the range a buyer should keep in mind when comparing drilling bids. Some wells are much deeper: the 90th percentile is 600 feet, and the deepest record reaches 4,550 feet.

The depth mix is spread fairly evenly through the shallower ranges: 29% are under 100 feet, 30% are 100-300 feet, and 28% are 300-600 feet. Another 12% are 600 feet or deeper. This is fractured mountain bedrock, including granite and gneiss, so depth depends on fractures and local geology rather than a predictable blanket aquifer. A 225-foot estimate is a useful starting point, not a promise.

What Altona Wells Commonly Produce

Reported well yields have a median of 7.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 5.0 and 10.0 gallons per minute. Most reported wells fall in the 5-15 gallon-per-minute range: 66% of the records. Fourteen percent report more than 15 gallons per minute.

Low-producing wells are present but not dominant. Three percent report under 1 gallon per minute, while 18% report 1-5 gallons per minute. For a house, the well's storage tank and recovery rate matter along with the pumping rate. Ask for the well construction report and pumping information, and do not treat a neighbor's 7.0 gpm result as a guarantee for another fractured-rock site. Household-use exempt wells are subject to Colorado rules, including the 35 gpm exempt-well pumping limit.

Water Levels in Altona Records Vary by Measurement Era

Among the 74 records that report a static water level, the median depth to water is 32 feet below the surface. The middle half runs from 10 to 100 feet. That is useful for planning a pump and pressure system, but it is a small dataset compared with the total number of permitted wells.

The decade series does not show a simple, continuous decline. Median water levels were 37 feet below surface in the 1960s, 26 feet in the 1970s, 65 feet in the 1980s, 60 feet in the 2010s, and 10 feet in the 2020s. Those measurements may reflect different locations, seasons, and reporting patterns, so they should not be read as a basin-wide water-table trend. A current measurement from the subject well is more useful than an old regional median.

Permit History and Drilling Activity Near Altona

Altona has a long permit history. Permits were issued in every decade from the 1950s through the 2020s, with the highest activity in the 1970s at 571 permits. The records include 358 permits from the 1980s, 387 from the 1990s, 195 from the 2000s, 89 from the 2010s, and 61 from the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025.

The most frequently listed driller in the records is Ground Water Systems Inc (Wilson, Richard R.), with 466 wells. Walton is listed on 181, and Authorized (Pe, Pg) on 117. These names describe recorded permit history, not a recommendation. When checking a property, compare the permit number, construction report, casing and grout details, pump test, and legal use. Nearby Lazy Acres and Jamestown can provide useful local permit context, while Sunshine and Crisman broaden the comparison area.

Estimated Well Drilling Cost in Altona

For Altona's fractured granite and gneiss, the drilling model uses $65-$100 per foot. At the 225-foot median depth, the drilled hole is estimated at $14,600-$22,500. That is only the drilling portion, not the complete water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at $20,600-$34,500 at the median depth. A lot requiring a 600-foot hole could cost substantially more than that median-based estimate, while a shallow successful hole could cost less. Get a written bid that identifies mobilization, casing, grout, drilling beyond the planned depth, pump equipment, water testing, trenching, electrical work, and any difficult access. The middle-half depth range of 72-405 feet is why a single flat allowance can be risky when budgeting a mountain build.

Environmental and Building Checks Before You Commit

Environmental records deserve attention around Altona. Within about 10 miles, the mapped data includes 129 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 603 historic mine features, and 64 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. A mapped site does not prove that a particular well is contaminated, but it is a reason to test existing water and investigate the property's drainage, historic uses, and proximity to mines or cleanup areas.

Low yield and dry holes remain practical risks in fractured bedrock, even where nearby wells look good. Confirm septic reserve areas, setbacks, driveway access for a drill rig, and room for a house, well, and septic system before closing. A well permit is not the same as a guaranteed water supply, and an augmentation plan may be needed for new use in an over-appropriated basin. Have the intended household use reviewed by Colorado DWR or a qualified water professional.

Well permits by decade near Altona

What a new well costs in Altona, 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 (405 ft) would run roughly $32,325–$52,500. 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 Altona? 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 Altona 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 Altona

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