Collbran, Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost Guide

How deep are wells around Collbran?

How much water do wells make near Collbran?

Collbran well depths and the ground below

Collbran-area wells have a median reported depth of 98 feet. The middle half runs from 52 to 159 feet, so that range is a reasonable starting point when a driller prepares a bid, but it is not a guarantee for a particular lot. Half of the reported wells are under 100 feet, while 41% fall from 100 to 300 feet.

The deeper end matters for budgeting. The 90th-percentile depth is 280 feet, the deepest record reaches 1,000 feet, and 8% of wells are 300 to 600 feet. Another 1% are 600 feet or deeper. Ground here is described as mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground, with 459 permits naming an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer and 15 naming alluvial water. Fractured rock can change quickly from one property to the next.

How much water Collbran wells produce

Among the 145 wells that report a pump yield, the median is 12.5 gallons per minute. The middle half is 7.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute, which is a useful range for comparing a driller’s estimate with nearby records. Reported production is not the same as a guaranteed long-term household supply, particularly where storage, pressure systems, or seasonal conditions affect use.

The yield mix is encouraging but uneven: 43% report 5 to 15 gallons per minute and 39% report more than 15. Another 16% fall between 1 and 5, while 1% are under 1 gallon per minute. Ask for the well construction report, pump test information, and any history of low pressure or recovery problems. A permit’s allowed use also matters; most local permits are domestic or household wells, while stock and irrigation uses have different practical considerations.

Water levels and the Collbran trend

Static water level means the depth from the ground surface down to water when the well is not being pumped. The local median is 40 feet, with the middle half from 18 to 92 feet. That information helps a driller think about pump setting, trenching, and pressure-system design, but it does not tell you the water level in an untested parcel.

The decade figures deserve attention. The median measured water level was 36 feet below surface in the 2010s and 64 feet in the 2020s. That is a deeper reported water level in the newer decade and may indicate changing conditions, although measurements can come from different wells, seasons, and pumping histories. Do not call it a confirmed area-wide decline without parcel-specific monitoring. For a purchase, obtain the well’s latest static level and ask how it behaves after sustained use.

Who has drilled near Collbran, and when

The permit record shows long-term drilling activity around Collbran. Permits were issued in every decade from the 1950s through the 2020s, with the newest permit year being 2025. The busiest decades in the record were the 1990s with 88 permits and the 2000s with 89. There were 51 permits in the 2010s and 58 in the 2020s.

The most active names in these records are Rule, also listed as Rule, Leo A, with 48 wells; Wildcat Drilling & Pump, Inc., also listed as Kissner, Billy D., with 37; and Authorized, listed as Pe, Pg, with 30. These counts describe recorded work, not current availability or a quality ranking. Confirm a contractor’s current licensing, insurance, references, scope, and proposed testing before signing a drilling agreement.

What a new well costs around Collbran

For the local mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground, the drilling model uses a typical rate of $50 to $75 per foot. At the 98-foot median depth, that puts the drilled hole at about $4,900 to $7,400. That figure is only the hole. Casing, grout, development, testing, and site access can change the final invoice.

A finished installation including the pump, tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at about $10,900 to $19,400 at the median depth. A deeper hole, difficult access, extra trenching, or a different pump system can push the cost higher. Request a written bid that separates drilling, casing and grout, pump equipment, electrical, trenching, permits, testing, and any unsuccessful-hole terms. Compare bids using the same scope rather than the per-foot rate alone.

Collbran risks: water quality, low yield, and site layout

Low yield is a real but relatively uncommon result in the reported data: 1% of wells are under 1 gallon per minute, while 16% report 1 to 5. A dry hole is still possible because fractured-bedrock conditions can vary sharply over short distances. Neighboring wells are useful evidence, but they do not replace a site-specific investigation, pump test, and water-quality testing.

Environmental screening also deserves a close look. The mapped area within about 10 miles includes 70 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 3 historic mine features, and 1 EPA Superfund or cleanup site. A map flag does not automatically mean a property’s water is unsafe, but it is a reason to test for the relevant contaminants and review agency records. Before building, confirm well-to-septic separation, reserve space for the septic system and replacement area, access for drilling equipment, and the electrical route.

Buying or building on a Collbran lot

Start with the exact well permit, construction report, pump information, static water level, and water-quality results. Check how the neighboring wells on the same road perform, especially if the property lies in a fractured-bedrock setting. The regional median gives context, but the nearby records are more useful for estimating depth, yield, and water level on your lot.

Then confirm the legal water use before making an offer. Colorado permits control allowable use; an exempt household-use well generally has a 35-gallon-per-minute pumping limit, and an over-appropriated basin may require an augmentation plan for certain uses. Have the driller, septic designer, electrician, and excavator review the site together. Build the budget around the finished system rather than drilling alone, and keep a contingency for deeper drilling, access work, testing, and site conditions.

Well permits by decade near Collbran

What a new well costs in Collbran, 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 (159 ft) would run roughly $13,950–$23,925. 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 Collbran? 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 Collbran 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 Collbran

Keep researching

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

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