Wells and Well Costs Around Buena Vista

How deep are wells around Buena Vista?

How much water do wells make near Buena Vista?

How deep are wells around Buena Vista?

Wells near Buena Vista are generally shallower than many buyers expect. The median reported depth is 85 feet, and the middle half runs from 52 to 140 feet. About 55% are under 100 feet, while 40% fall between 100 and 300 feet. The 90th-percentile depth is 220 feet, and the deepest record reaches 600 feet.

For a driller's bid, the median is a starting point, not a promise. A lot in Johnson Village or toward the mountain foothills may encounter a different fracture pattern than a neighboring parcel. Most permitted wells name an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer, with 2,749 wells in that category. Granite and gneiss can produce water at one fracture and little at the next, so depth allowances matter.

What kind of well yield can you expect?

Reported production is one of the stronger parts of this local record. The median pump yield is 12.0 gallons per minute, and the middle half is 10.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute. About 71% of reported wells produce between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, while 25% report more than 15 gallons per minute.

Only 3% report yields from 1 to 5 gallons per minute, and 0% are recorded under 1 gallon per minute. That does not eliminate low-yield or dry-hole risk on an untested parcel. Pump tests, storage capacity, and the well's intended household use still matter. A Colorado exempt household-use well is generally limited to 35 gallons per minute, and the permit conditions control what the well may serve.

Is the water table changing near Buena Vista?

The median static water level is 42 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 21 to 83 feet. In practical terms, a driller may encounter water relatively shallowly, but the level can differ substantially between lots and seasons.

The decade series does suggest deeper measured water levels than the earliest records: the median was 28 feet in the 1970s and 1980s, 32 feet in the 1990s, 35 feet in the 2000s, 50 feet in the 2010s, and 45 feet in the 2020s. That pattern is worth checking, but it is not proof of a steadily dropping water table. Measurement timing, location, and well construction can affect the comparison. Request the actual nearby measurements rather than relying only on the area median.

Who has drilled wells here, and when?

Buena Vista's permit history is long, with records beginning in the 1950s and the newest permit year being 2025. The busiest decades were the 1990s, with 582 permits, and the 2000s, with 515. There were 342 permits in the 1970s, 222 in the 1980s, 362 in the 2010s, and 210 in the 2020s.

The most active drillers in the records are Twin Lakes Drilling Co. (Schaffer, James O), with 236 wells; Whitewater Systems, Inc. (Shake, Shawn), with 233; and Golden Eagle Drilling Corporation (Shelton, Joe Wayne), with 216. These records help identify local experience, but they do not replace current licensing, references, a written scope, or a site-specific bid.

What does a new well cost near Buena Vista?

Local drilling is priced for fractured mountain bedrock, including granite and gneiss. The drilling rate in the cost model is $65 to $100 per foot. At the local median depth of 85 feet, the drilled hole works out to about $5,500 to $8,500.

A finished well is more than the hole. Including the pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical work, the modeled total is about $11,500 to $20,500 at the median depth. A deeper-than-typical hole, difficult access, casing and grout requirements, or a failed first location can change the bid. Ask what footage, casing, testing, pump equipment, electrical work, and restoration are included before comparing estimates.

Risks to check before building or buying

Water quality deserves its own review. The mapped area within about 10 miles includes 5 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 354 historic mine features, and 6 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Those locations do not prove contamination on a particular parcel, but they are reasons to check the address, well history, and laboratory results before relying on the water.

Also investigate low yield, dry holes, casing and grout, and the distance between the well and a proposed septic system. Septic placement, driveway access, building envelopes, and electrical routing can force a more expensive well location. Most local permits are for domestic or household use, at 83% of the use mix. If the project needs uses beyond the permit, water rights, an augmentation plan, or a different permit may be required.

A practical plan for a Buena Vista lot

Start with the DWR records for the parcel and nearby properties, including Johnson Village and the route toward Nathrop. Compare reported depths, yields, static levels, construction details, and the named aquifer. A cluster of useful neighboring wells is better evidence than an area-wide average, especially in fractured rock.

Before closing, have a driller review access, rig placement, likely casing and grout, and the cost of getting power to the well. Have a septic professional confirm that the lot can support the intended system without conflicting with the well or house. For a new build, coordinate the well, septic, driveway, and foundation layout early. If the basin or proposed use raises water-rights questions, confirm the permit requirements with Colorado DWR before construction.

Well permits by decade near Buena Vista

What a new well costs in Buena Vista, 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 (140 ft) would run roughly $15,100–$26,000. 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 Buena Vista? 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 Buena Vista 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 Buena Vista

Keep researching

More in Chaffee County

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

Nearby areas