Breckenridge Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost

How deep are wells around Breckenridge?

How much water do wells make near Breckenridge?

Breckenridge well depth reflects fractured mountain rock

The median reported well depth near Breckenridge is 135 feet. The middle half runs from 80 to 207 feet, while the 90th percentile is 290 feet. The deepest recorded well reaches 1,000 feet. More than half of reported wells, 57%, fall between 100 and 300 feet; 34% are under 100 feet, and 9% are between 300 and 600 feet.

Most permits name an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer, with 3,481 wells in that category. That geology is the main reason depth can vary sharply across short distances. For a drilling bid, use the 135-foot median as a planning reference, not a promised refusal point. A parcel near Blue River or Keystone may still encounter different fractures, overburden, access, or casing conditions.

Local well yields are usually usable, but not uniform

Among the 1,234 wells reporting pump yield, the median is 10.0 gallons per minute. The middle half falls between 8.0 and 15.0 gallons per minute. Sixty-six percent report yields from 5 to 15 gallons per minute, and 26% report more than 15 gallons per minute. Another 8% fall between 1 and 5 gallons per minute; none of the reported wells are under 1 gallon per minute.

That distribution is encouraging for ordinary household use, but a pump test still matters. Yield is not the same as storage in the well, and a good short test does not answer every seasonal question. Ask for the well construction and yield records for the property and nearby wells in Frisco, Dillon, or Copper Mountain. Exempt household-use wells also have legal limits, including the 35 gpm pumping limit.

Breckenridge water levels vary by measurement decade

The median static water level is 80 feet below the ground surface, with the middle half from 45 to 120 feet. The decade medians are 75 feet in the 1970s, 80 feet in the 1980s, 70 feet in the 1990s, 95 feet in the 2000s, 70 feet in the 2010s, and 100 feet in the 2020s.

Only 288 wells report a static water level, so this is a limited sample. The series does not show a simple, steady decline: measurements move shallower and deeper across decades, with the 2020s median deeper than the 2010s. Treat that as a reason to inspect the individual well record and seasonal conditions, not as proof that the entire Breckenridge water table is dropping.

Permit history shows long local drilling activity

Breckenridge has a long well-permit record, with permits issued as far back as the 1960s and the newest permit year listed as 2025. The largest decade was the 1990s, with 1,006 permits. Records show 728 in the 2000s, 380 in the 2010s, and 273 in the 2020s. Use is predominantly domestic or household at 86%; monitoring accounts for 9%, and irrigation for 1%.

The most frequently listed drillers are Golden Eagle Drilling Corporation, Shelton, Joe Wayne, with 688 records; Buena Vista Drilling, Shelton, William L, with 469; and Arrow Drilling Co., Berglund, Paul R., with 285. These names describe permit history, not a recommendation or proof of current availability. Verify licensing, insurance, references, and the exact scope of any proposal.

What a Breckenridge well can cost to drill

Local ground is fractured mountain bedrock, described in the cost model as granite or gneiss. The typical drilling rate is $65 to $100 per foot. At the 135-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $8,800 to $13,500. That figure is only the drilling portion and should not be treated as the complete water-system budget.

A finished well including the pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at $14,800 to $25,500 at the median depth. A bid can move outside that range if the hole is deeper, access is difficult, casing or grout requirements change, or the site needs more extensive trenching. Have the contractor state what is included and what happens if the hole is dry or requires additional depth.

Risks to check before buying a mountain lot

Fractured-bedrock wells can produce very different results on neighboring parcels. A dry hole or low-yield result remains possible even where nearby records look good. Confirm the permitted use, construction details, pump yield, static water level, casing, and grout. If the basin is over-appropriated, an augmentation plan may be required for the intended use; do not assume a permit alone settles that question.

Environmental review also deserves attention. Within about 10 miles are 14 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 1,056 historic mine features, and 13 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Those mapped sites do not automatically mean a parcel's water is contaminated, but they justify laboratory testing and a review of site history. Keep the well and septic system separated as required by the applicable design and permitting rules, and verify that the lot can accommodate both.

A practical plan for building near Breckenridge

Before closing, obtain the Colorado DWR permit and every available construction, yield, and water-level record for the property. Compare those records with wells in Blue River, Frisco, Keystone, Dillon, Copper Mountain, and other nearby areas only as local context; the closest comparable well is usually more useful than a broad county average. Ask a qualified driller what the geology and access mean for depth, casing, grout, and refusal risk.

For a new build, confirm the well location, pump power, storage, trench route, septic field, driveway, and house footprint together. A domestic-use permit may not support every planned use, and larger demands can raise water-rights or augmentation issues. Budget from the full finished-system estimate, then carry a separate allowance for unusual depth, access, electrical work, testing, or a revised septic design.

Well permits by decade near Breckenridge

What a new well costs in Breckenridge, 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 (207 ft) would run roughly $19,455–$32,700. 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 Breckenridge? 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 Breckenridge 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 Breckenridge

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