What Centennial Wells Cost, Produce, and Require

How deep are wells around Centennial?

How much water do wells make near Centennial?

Centennial well depth varies sharply by formation

A 280-foot median is a useful starting point for a drilling estimate, not a promised target. Half of the wells with reported depths fall between 46 and 468 feet. The depth mix shows why bids can differ: 36% are under 100 feet, 17% are 100 to 300 feet, 29% are 300 to 600 feet, and 18% exceed 600 feet.

The deepest recorded well reaches 2,485 feet, while the 90th percentile is 1,252 feet. Centennial’s Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock and named Denver Basin aquifers do not produce one uniform drilling depth. For a purchase, ask for nearby completed well logs and have the driller explain what depth range is included in the bid, along with casing and grout assumptions.

Most reported Centennial wells make usable flow

Reported pump yields are generally stronger than the depth range might suggest. The median is 15.0 gallons per minute, and the middle half runs from 12.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute. Of the wells reporting yield, 48% produce between 5 and 15 gallons per minute and 52% produce more than 15 gallons per minute.

No reported wells fall under 1 gallon per minute or between 1 and 5 gallons per minute in this dataset. That is encouraging for a buyer, but it does not remove the need for a well test. Pump yield, storage capacity, household demand and permit terms all matter. A strong short-term test also does not prove the aquifer will respond the same way through every season.

Centennial water levels show a changing record, not a simple trend

The overall median static water level is 164 feet below surface, with the middle half from 70 to 502 feet. Only 112 wells report a static water level, so the water-level history is much thinner than the depth record.

Measurements by decade do not show a straight, continuing decline. The median was 132 feet in the 1970s, 413 feet in the 1980s, and 480 feet in the 2000s. It then measured 253 feet in the 2010s and 140 feet in the 2020s. Differences in locations, aquifers, and measurement timing may explain part of that movement. Treat the series as context, not a guarantee of the water level under a particular parcel.

Centennial permit history identifies the active drilling names

Permit activity has continued across the area, with the newest permit in 2025. The busiest period in these records was the 1990s, with 805 permits. The record also shows 653 permits in the 2000s, 380 in the 2010s, and 228 in the 2020s. Permit totals are not the same as completed wells: 1,958 are recorded as constructed.

The most active driller names in the records are Authorized (Pe, Pg) with 719 entries, Hier Drilling Co Inc with 458, and Hier Drilling Co. with 305. These are record references, not endorsements. Before relying on a permit, confirm the construction report, well status, allowed use and any later changes with Colorado DWR.

A Centennial well budget starts near the median depth

For Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock, the drilling rate model is $50 to $70 per foot. At the 280-foot median depth, that puts the drilled hole at roughly $14,000 to $19,600. A finished well, including pump, tank, trenching and electrical, is modeled at about $20,000 to $31,600.

That range is a planning figure, not a fixed bid. The depth mix includes wells beyond 600 feet and a deepest recorded well of 2,485 feet, so an unexpectedly deep hole can change the budget substantially. Ask what the proposal includes for casing, grout, pump sizing, pressure equipment, trenching, electrical work and testing. Also ask how the contractor handles a dry or insufficient well before signing a drilling agreement.

Check water quality, septic space, and building limits

Mapped environmental records within about 10 miles include 256 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 29 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites, and 5 historic mine features. These listings do not prove contamination at a specific address, but they justify a careful site review and baseline water testing. Test the existing well before closing, and use a laboratory that covers the concerns relevant to the property.

Low yield and dry-hole risk still deserve a written discussion even though the reported yield numbers are favorable. Confirm the DWR permit allows the intended household use. An exempt household-use well has a 35 gallon-per-minute pumping limit. Septic setbacks, replacement-area requirements, access for a rig, and space for tanks and electrical equipment can affect where a house fits. Have the well, septic and building layout reviewed together.

Well permits by decade near Centennial

What a new well costs in Centennial, 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 (468 ft) would run roughly $29,400–$44,760. 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 Centennial? 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 Centennial 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 Centennial

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