Carbonate, Colorado well depths, yields and costs

How deep are wells around Carbonate?

How much water do wells make near Carbonate?

Carbonate well depth is usually shallow, but the ground still matters

Reported wells near Carbonate have a median total depth of 98 feet. The middle half runs from 72 to 140 feet, meaning half of the reported wells fall within that range. The 90th-percentile depth is 220 feet, and the deepest record reaches 385 feet.

Depth is not evenly distributed. Fifty-one percent of reported wells are under 100 feet, while 46% fall between 100 and 300 feet. Only 3% are between 300 and 600 feet, with none recorded above 600 feet. For a drilling bid, these figures support asking for a shallow-to-moderate initial estimate, while keeping room for a deeper hole if the local fractured rock does not produce water where expected.

The permits identify an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer for 195 wells. That geology can change quickly from one parcel to the next.

Reported Carbonate yields are strong, but confirm the test

The median reported pump yield near Carbonate is 15.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 10.0 and 15.0 gallons per minute. Fifty-seven percent of reported wells produce more than 15 gallons per minute, 30% report 5 to 15 gallons per minute, and 12% report 1 to 5 gallons per minute. No reported well falls under 1 gallon per minute.

Those results are favorable for ordinary household use, but they are not a promise for an unbuilt lot. Production depends on the exact fracture or water-bearing layer encountered, well construction and the pumping test. Ask for the well-completion report and test details rather than relying only on a neighboring owner's verbal estimate. A Colorado exempt household-use well also has a 35 gpm pumping limit, so a high-producing well is not automatically permission for unrestricted use.

Carbonate water levels show relatively shallow water in the records

Only 23 wells in the local records report a static water level, so the water-level sample is much smaller than the depth sample. Among those reports, the median depth to static water is 32 feet, and the middle half is 14 to 53 feet.

That is a shallow reported water level compared with the typical total depth, but it should not be read as a dependable water table for every Carbonate parcel. Static level can vary with season, pumping history, recharge and the specific aquifer or fracture connected to the well. The available facts do not provide a decade-by-decade water-level series, so they do not establish a documented dropping or rising trend.

Before closing, have the well owner or seller provide current use information and the original water-level and construction records when available.

Carbonate permit history points to established local drilling experience

Permit activity is concentrated in the 1990s and 2000s, with 61 permits issued in the 1990s and 58 in the 2000s. The record includes 25 permits from the 2010s and 19 from the 2020s, with the newest permit year listed as 2025. That recent permit activity matters when checking whether a proposed lot has nearby, comparable work rather than relying only on older wells.

The most frequently recorded driller is Shelton Drilling Corporation, Shelton, Wayne, with 64 records. Collins Drilling Co, Collins, F. E. “Bodie,” appears on 23, and Golden Eagle Drilling Corporation, Shelton, Joe Wayne, appears on 17. These are permit-record counts, not current availability or endorsements. Request bids from an active licensed driller and compare scope, casing, grout, pump testing and site access separately.

A Carbonate well at the median depth costs more than drilling alone

The local cost model uses mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground and a typical drilling rate of $50 to $75 per foot. At the 98-foot median depth, the drilled hole is modeled at about $4,900 to $7,400.

A finished well, including the pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical, is modeled at about $10,900 to $19,400. That finished figure is the more useful planning number for a buyer, because a bare drilled hole is not a functioning household water system.

Actual bids can change with access, casing and grout requirements, depth, power distance, trench conditions and whether the site is ready for equipment. Ask each contractor to identify what is included and what happens if the hole must be deepened. The 98-foot median is a local reference point, not a guaranteed stopping depth.

Check mines, PFAS, septic layout and the possibility of a dry hole

Mapped environmental information within about 10 miles includes 1 PFAS sampling or contamination site and 21 historic mine features. There are 0 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites in that area. These facts do not determine water quality on an individual parcel, but they justify a records review and laboratory testing, especially where historic mining or a mapped PFAS site could affect the local setting.

The greater practical risk is often an unproductive or poorly constructed well. Fractured-bedrock water can be unpredictable, even when nearby yields look good. A buyer should review the completion report, pump test, static level, casing and grout information, then test water for household concerns before depending on it.

Septic and building plans also need room for setbacks, soil evaluation, replacement-area planning and utility access. A good well location can conflict with driveway or septic placement, so coordinate the full site plan before drilling.

Buyers near Carbonate should verify the lot, not just the neighborhood average

Start with the Colorado DWR permit and construction records for the property, then compare the closest completed wells in Chacra, No Name and the Carbonate area. Glenwood Springs is about 14 miles away, while New Castle is about 15 miles away; those communities provide broader context but may be less representative of a specific fractured-bedrock parcel.

For an existing home, ask for recent water testing, pump performance, maintenance history and evidence that the well serves the legal use claimed. For vacant land, make the well location, access for a rig, electrical route and septic area part of the feasibility review before committing to construction.

Because the local median yield is 15.0 gallons per minute and no reported well is under 1 gallon per minute, the area record is reassuring. It still cannot replace a parcel-specific well plan, permit review and contractor estimate.

Well permits by decade near Carbonate

What a new well costs in Carbonate, 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 $13,000–$22,500. 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 Carbonate? 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 Carbonate 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 Carbonate

Keep researching

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

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