What Arboles Wells Cost, Produce, and Require

How deep are wells around Arboles?

How much water do wells make near Arboles?

Arboles well depths reflect fractured mountain rock

The median recorded well depth near Arboles is 140 feet, and the middle half runs from 100 to 200 feet. About 70% of the wells fall between 100 and 300 feet, while 25% are under 100 feet. The 90th-percentile depth is 244 feet.

That range is a reasonable starting point for a drilling estimate, not a promise about a specific parcel. Fractured granite and gneiss can produce water through isolated fractures, so nearby wells may differ substantially. The deepest well on record is 2,950 feet, showing that exceptions exist. A contractor bidding your lot should review nearby completions, access, proposed casing and grout, and the well permit conditions before setting a final depth allowance.

Reported Arboles yields are usually workable, but not uniform

Among the 56 wells that report a pump yield, the median is 7.0 gallons per minute. The middle half is 4.4 to 12.2 gallons per minute. The records show 52% producing between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, 21% at 15 gallons per minute or more, and 27% between 1 and 5 gallons per minute.

No reported well in this data set is under 1 gallon per minute. That is encouraging for a buyer, but the yield sample is much smaller than the total permit record. Well yield is not the same as storage in the pressure tank or household use at one moment. Ask for the completion report and pump test, then match the system to the home, fixtures, irrigation plans, and any livestock use.

Arboles water levels show a shallow reported static range, not a trend

The 21 wells reporting static water level have a median depth to water of 42 feet, with the middle half from 21 to 62 feet. That can help a driller think about pump setting, trenching, and initial system design, but it does not establish the water level on an unbuilt lot.

The permit count rises from 2 in the 1950s to 142 in the 2010s, with 24 permits in the 2020s and the newest permit year recorded as 2025. Those figures describe permitting activity, not a falling or rising water table. Because fractured-bedrock wells may draw from separate water-bearing fractures, a nearby static reading should be treated as local evidence rather than a basin-wide forecast.

Who has drilled around Arboles, and when permits were issued

Domestic and household wells make up 69% of the nearby permit records. Stock and irrigation wells each account for 3%, while monitoring wells account for 1%. The named aquifer is usually unnamed or fractured bedrock, covering 472 wells. Fruitland-Pictured Cliffs appears on 19 permits, alluvial aquifers on 4, and Denver Basin aquifers on 0.

The most active drillers in these records are Mortimer Water Well Drilling, also listed as Mortimer, Harry, with 53 wells; Beeman Bros Drilling Inc, also listed as Beeman, J. L., with 33; and Dak Drilling LLC, also listed as Rathjen, Doug, with 31. Records reach back to the 1950s and include a newest permit year of 2025. Verify current licensing, insurance, scope, and references before hiring.

What an Arboles well may cost to drill and finish

For fractured mountain bedrock such as granite and gneiss, the local drilling model uses $65 to $100 per foot. At the 140-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $9,100 to $14,000. That is only the hole and should not be mistaken for a ready-to-use water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at about $15,100 to $26,000 at the median depth. A deeper hole, difficult access, extra casing, longer trenching, or challenging electrical work can change the bid. Request a written allowance that separates drilling, casing and grout, development, pump equipment, storage, trenching, electrical, testing, and permit-related work.

Risks to check before building near Arboles

The primary water risk is variability. Although no reported well in this set is under 1 gallon per minute, only 56 wells report a pump yield, and fractured rock can produce a dry hole or a low-producing fracture on one parcel while a nearby well performs well. Review neighboring permits and completion reports before closing, and make the contract contingencies fit the actual water plan.

Environmental review also matters. There are 6 mapped PFAS sampling or contamination sites within about 10 miles. There are 0 historic mine features and 0 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites in the mapped data. Test existing water for common drinking-water concerns and any site-specific concern identified during due diligence. Confirm septic setbacks, drainfield space, driveway access, electrical routing, and building location before drilling or excavating.

A practical lot plan for Southern Ute and nearby Arboles areas

Start with the Colorado DWR permit record for the parcel and nearby wells, especially completions showing depth, yield, static level, aquifer description, casing, and grout. Use the 100-to-200-foot middle depth range and 4.4-to-12.2-gpm middle yield range as planning context, then have a licensed driller inspect the site and access route.

Confirm the proposed domestic use, tank capacity, pump setting, septic layout, and electrical service before construction begins. An exempt household-use well can have specific legal limits; Colorado’s exempt-well pumping limit is 35 gallons per minute, and an augmentation plan may be required in an over-appropriated basin. Have the title, permit, water quality, and building plans reviewed together rather than treating the well as a separate item.

Well permits by decade near Arboles

What a new well costs in Arboles, 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 (200 ft) would run roughly $19,000–$32,000. 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 Arboles? 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 Arboles 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 Arboles

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More in Archuleta County

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

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