What Blende Wells Are Really Like

How deep are wells around Blende?

How much water do wells make near Blende?

Blende well depths are usually shallow

Blende’s well records are dominated by shallow construction. The median depth is 32 feet, and the middle half runs from 25 to 40 feet. The 90th percentile is 50 feet, while 98% of reported wells are under 100 feet. That pattern fits the plains setting around Blende, Salt Creek and Pueblo, where alluvium and plains sedimentary rock commonly control drilling conditions.

For a buyer, the middle-half range is more useful than the deepest record. A driller bidding a typical site will likely be thinking about a shallow hole, casing, grout and the local completion details, not a deep-rock project. Still, the record includes a deepest well of 1,890 feet, and 1% of wells fall in the 600-plus-foot category. Neighboring permits can help identify whether your parcel follows the local pattern.

Reported yields around Blende are generally usable

The reported yield data is favorable, with a 15.0 gpm median and a middle half from 12.0 to 35.0 gpm. The distribution shows 62% of reporting wells above 15 gpm, while 34% fall in the 5-to-15 gpm range. Only 4% report from 1 to 5 gpm, and no reported wells are under 1 gpm.

That does not mean every new well will produce 15 gpm. Yield is reported for only 169 wells, so the sample is limited. A high-producing well can still need proper storage, pump sizing and electrical planning. Confirm the permit’s approved use: the local records include domestic and household, irrigation, monitoring and stock wells, and those uses do not all represent the same water demand.

The Blende water table looks stable in the available record

Reported static water levels are shallow. The median depth to water is 18 feet, with the middle half from 12 to 25 feet. That matters during construction because a shallow water level can affect drilling methods, casing, grouting, trench work and excavation planning. It also means the static reading should not be confused with the pumping water level under demand.

The decade comparison does not show a clear dropping trend: the median was 18 feet below the surface in the 2010s and 17 feet in the 2020s. This is a small reporting set, with only 109 wells listing static water levels, so treat it as local context rather than a guarantee. Ask for a recent measurement and a pump test on the property you are considering.

Permit history shows long-running drilling around Blende

Blende has a long permit history, with records reaching back to the 1950s and the newest permit issued in 2025. Permit activity was recorded across every decade in the supplied series: 121 in the 1950s, 179 in the 1960s, 327 in the 1970s, 127 in the 1980s, 394 in the 1990s, 443 in the 2000s, 485 in the 2010s and 221 in the 2020s.

The most frequent names in these records are Authorized (Pe, Pg), with 652 wells, Don Stewart & Son Drilling with 248, and Hoffman with 42. These records can help you identify local drilling history, but they do not constitute a recommendation. Verify current licensing, availability, scope and references before selecting a contractor.

What a new Blende well may cost

For the local alluvium and plains sedimentary rock, the drilling model uses a typical rate of $35 to $55 per foot. At the local median depth of 32 feet, the drilled hole is estimated at about $1,100 to $1,800. That is only the hole. It does not represent a complete water system ready for household use.

The estimated finished-well range is $7,100 to $13,800, including the pump, tank, trenching and electrical work. A written bid should identify casing and grout, pump capacity, pressure equipment, trench length, electrical requirements, testing and permit-related work. Shallow depth can reduce drilling exposure, but access, rock layers, water quality work and the home’s location can still change the final price.

Check water quality, septic layout and dry-hole risk

Depth and yield are only part of the decision. The mapped area within about 10 miles includes 48 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 32 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites and 2 historic mine features. Those locations do not prove that a particular Blende well is contaminated, but they are a reason to review nearby environmental information and test the water before closing or occupying a home.

Low yield and dry holes remain site-specific risks even though the reported yield distribution is strong. Have a driller review nearby permits, proposed well location and intended use. Keep the well, septic system and building site coordinated from the start. A permitted domestic or household well may have use limits, and over-appropriated basins may require an augmentation plan. Confirm the permit terms with Colorado DWR before building.

Use nearby permits before you buy a Blende lot

Start with wells close to the parcel, then widen the comparison toward Pueblo, Salt Creek and Vineland. The records show 3,612 wells in the five-mile study area, with 2,518 recorded as constructed and 2,692 reporting a total depth. Those records can reveal local depth, aquifer naming, use and drilling history, but the data is uneven and many permits do not include yield or static-level measurements.

Before making an offer, make the water investigation part of due diligence. Check the permit status and approved use, ask for well construction and pumping information, obtain a current water test, and have the septic and building layout reviewed together. If the lot is for a new home, price access, trenching, electrical service, septic and storage at the same time as the well. That gives you a more realistic project budget than drilling depth alone.

Well permits by decade near Blende

What a new well costs in Blende, 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 (40 ft) would run roughly $7,400–$14,200. 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 Blende? 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 Blende 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 Blende

Keep researching

More in Pueblo County

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

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