Berthoud, Colorado Well Depths, Yields and Costs

How deep are wells around Berthoud?

How much water do wells make near Berthoud?

Berthoud’s shallow median hides a wide drilling range

Berthoud wells have a 27-foot median reported depth, and the middle half runs from 16 to 44 feet. That is an unusually shallow central range for estimating a basic borehole in this plains setting. Still, 87% of reported wells are under 100 feet, while the local record also includes wells from 100 to 300 feet, 300 to 600 feet, and above 600 feet.

For a driller’s bid, do not price every parcel from the median alone. The 90th-percentile depth is 240 feet, and the deepest record is 1,000 feet. Local alluvium, plains sedimentary rock, the intended use, and the exact water-bearing layer can change the job substantially. Nearby records from Johnstown, Mead, Milliken, Platteville, Firestone and Gilcrest can help establish context, but a site-specific estimate still requires a driller’s review.

What Berthoud wells produce for a household

Among the Berthoud-area records that report pump yield, the median is 15.0 gallons per minute. The middle half ranges from 5.0 to 104.0 gallons per minute, showing a broad spread between modest household wells and much stronger-producing wells. The yield data are limited: only 34 permits report a pump yield, so treat the statistic as a guide rather than a promise for an untested parcel.

Six percent of reported yields are under 1 gallon per minute, and 9% fall between 1 and 5 gallons per minute. That low-producing minority deserves attention during a purchase. A household may function on a low-yield well with adequate storage, but irrigation, livestock, multiple bathrooms or future construction can increase demand. Have the well tested for production and recovery, not just water quality.

The water table is shallow, but the records do not show a trend

Reported static water levels have a 12-foot median depth to water, with the middle half between 7 and 16 feet. In practical terms, many recorded wells encounter relatively shallow groundwater. That can reduce drilling depth, but it also means groundwater may be more exposed to surface conditions, poor well construction or nearby contamination sources.

The available facts provide a water-level summary, not a decade-by-decade series. They do not support a conclusion that the water table is rising or dropping over time. Static level is also not the same as a sustained pumping level. Ask for the original well construction report, static and pumping measurements, and any recent service records. A shallow water level does not by itself establish a reliable household supply or safe drinking water.

Recent permits and the contractors in the record

Colorado DWR records show 682 permitted wells within five miles of Berthoud, with 315 recorded as constructed. A newer permit may describe an intended well rather than a completed and tested water source, so separate construction records from permit records when researching a property. The newest permit year in this dataset is 2026, and 75 permits were issued in the 2020s.

The most active driller name in these records is Authorized (Pe, Pg), with 278 records. Kelley Dewatering And Construction Company (Creech, Jason) appears on 34, and Lesh Drilling Inc. (Lesh Jr., Ed) appears on 17. These entries reflect permit records and do not mean every listed contractor is available for new work. Confirm current licensing, scope and insurance before hiring.

A Berthoud well budget starts with depth, not just footage

For Berthoud’s alluvium and plains sedimentary rock, the drilling model uses a typical rate of $35 to $55 per foot. At the local median depth, the drilled hole is estimated at about $900 to $1,500. That is only the drilling portion. It does not represent a complete operating water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical is modeled at about $6,900 to $13,500 at the median depth. A deeper hole, difficult access, additional casing or grout, hard formation, storage needs and long utility runs can move the total outside that range. Before buying land, request an itemized bid that separates drilling, casing, grout, pump equipment, trenching, electrical and testing. Confirm what happens if the hole is dry or produces less than expected.

Berthoud risks: water quality, low yield and site layout

The mapped area within about ten miles includes 1,198 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, five historic mine features and five EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. A mapped site is a reason to investigate, not proof that a particular well is contaminated. Order a qualified drinking-water test for the property and ask about nearby land uses, historic activities and any recorded sampling.

Low yield and dry-hole risk also need a written plan. Six percent of reported yields are under 1 gallon per minute, and the dataset includes only 34 yield reports. Check the well construction, casing and grout, pump test results, storage capacity and service history. Septic location, replacement-area requirements, driveway access, utility trenches and the proposed building footprint must be planned together. A shallow well and a shallow groundwater level can make septic separation and construction decisions especially important.

What to check before buying or building near Berthoud

Start with the DWR permit and construction records for the property, then compare several nearby wells rather than relying on one neighbor. Look at depth, aquifer description, static water level, reported yield and intended use. Berthoud records name 317 wells in an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer, 159 in alluvial aquifers and nine in Quaternary Alluvium; 18% are identified with Denver Basin aquifers. Those labels show local variety, not a guaranteed result for your lot.

For a purchase, make the contract contingent on reviewing the permit, testing water quality and confirming the well serves the intended use. For a build, obtain a driller’s access and depth estimate before finalizing the house site. Household use, irrigation, stock water and monitoring permits are not interchangeable. Also confirm whether an augmentation plan is needed in an over-appropriated basin and verify the permit’s allowed uses with Colorado DWR.

Well permits by decade near Berthoud

What a new well costs in Berthoud, 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 (44 ft) would run roughly $7,540–$14,420. 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 Berthoud? 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 Berthoud 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 Berthoud

Keep researching

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