What Burlington, Colorado Wells Are Really Like

How deep are wells around Burlington?

How much water do wells make near Burlington?

Burlington wells are usually about 310 feet deep

The median reported well depth near Burlington is 310 feet. The middle half runs from 285 to 328 feet, which gives a driller a fairly tight starting range for a normal bid. About 66% of the depth records fall between 300 and 600 feet, while 34% fall between 100 and 300 feet. No recorded wells fall under 100 feet or above 600 feet in the depth mix, although the deepest individual record reaches 905 feet.

These depths fit Burlington’s plains setting, where alluvium and plains sedimentary rock are the stated drilling conditions. Permits name the Ogallala on 355 wells and an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer on 334. A site-specific driller should still review nearby logs before fixing casing, grout, and drilling depth.

Most Burlington production wells report useful flow

Among the 190 wells with a reported pump yield, the median is 26.5 gallons per minute. The middle half ranges from 20.0 to 50.0 gallons per minute. That is a strong local result for ordinary household, stock, and many irrigation uses, but it is a reported well-yield figure rather than a promise for a new hole.

The records show 93% of reported yields above 15 gallons per minute, 6% between 5 and 15, and 1% between 1 and 5. None are listed under 1 gallon per minute. Ask for the original pumping test, pump setting, recovery information, and permitted use. An exempt household-use well also remains subject to its permit conditions and the state’s 35-gallon-per-minute pumping limit.

Water levels near Burlington deserve a closer look

The median static water level is 190 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 169 to 224 feet. That affects pump depth, electrical planning, and the cost of getting water into a house. A buyer should distinguish static water level from total well depth: a 310-foot well does not mean the water stands at 310 feet.

The decade comparison points to a deeper measured water level over time. The median was 166 feet below surface in the 1960s and 234 feet in the 2020s. This suggests a declining water table in the available measurements, but the series combines different locations and well conditions. Have a driller measure the actual well and review nearby records before relying on a trend for one property.

Burlington’s permit history shows a long drilling record

The local record covers 700 permitted wells, including 321 recorded as constructed and 417 with a total depth. Permits were issued in every decade shown, with the most activity in the 2000s at 116 permits. The newest permit year is 2025, so Burlington still has current well activity rather than only legacy construction.

For older and newer records combined, the most frequently named drillers are Schaal Drilling Co. (Schaal, Ruben T.) with 119 records, Parrish Drilling (Parrish, Wayne) with 101, and Hilt, Fred Jr with 30. Those names help identify local drilling history. They do not replace a current bid, license check, or discussion of access and site conditions.

What a new Burlington well may cost

In Burlington’s alluvium and plains sedimentary rock, the drilling model uses about $35 to $55 per foot. At the local median depth of 310 feet, the drilled hole works out to approximately $10,800 to $17,000. That is the hole itself, not the complete water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at about $16,800 to $29,000. A written estimate should state what happens if the hole must go deeper, how casing and grout are priced, and what is included in trenching and power work. Keep separate allowances for house plumbing, treatment, access, and any septic or site-development work.

PFAS, septic, and dry-hole questions still matter

Strong area-wide yield numbers do not eliminate parcel-level risk. The mapped area within about ten miles includes 12 PFAS sampling or contamination sites and 2 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. There are no historic mine features mapped in that area. Before closing, obtain a current water test suited to the property and ask whether the well lies near a known site or other potential source.

Also confirm the well’s construction, pump performance, and water quality rather than relying on a neighbor’s result. A low-producing or dry hole is possible even where nearby wells perform well. Septic setbacks, replacement-area requirements, driveway access, and the house location can constrain the build. Water rights may also require an augmentation plan in an over-appropriated basin.

A practical plan for buying or building near Burlington

Start with the exact parcel, then compare nearby DWR permits by depth, aquifer, yield, static level, and construction status. A property with a recorded well should have the permit, completion report, pump information, and a recent flow and water-quality test available for review. If the records are incomplete, price the uncertainty rather than assuming the median applies.

For vacant land, have a licensed driller evaluate the proposed house site, access route, power path, septic layout, and likely drilling location together. Burlington’s reported 310-foot median and 190-foot median static level are useful planning markers, while the $16,800-$29,000 finished-well model gives a starting budget. Confirm current permit and water-right requirements with Colorado DWR before construction.

Well permits by decade near Burlington

What a new well costs in Burlington, 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 (328 ft) would run roughly $17,480–$30,040. 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 Burlington? 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 Burlington 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 Burlington

Keep researching

More in Kit Carson County

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

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