What Craig, Colorado Wells Are Like

How deep are wells around Craig?

How much water do wells make near Craig?

Craig Well Depths Vary More Than a Typical Bid Suggests

The median permitted well near Craig is 218 feet deep. The middle half runs from 26 to 374 feet, so half of the reported wells fall across a very broad range. The 90th percentile is 484 feet, and the deepest record reaches 4,100 feet.

Depth mix helps explain why bids can differ. Thirty-eight percent of wells are under 100 feet, 23% are 100-300 feet, 34% are 300-600 feet, and 5% are 600 feet or deeper. A median-depth estimate is useful for budgeting, not a promise for a particular parcel. Mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground can change the drilling plan quickly, especially where permits identify fractured bedrock. Ask for a written price per foot and the added cost of casing, grout, pump work, and any extra drilling.

Most Craig Wells Produce a Usable Household Rate

Among the 150 Craig-area records that report pump yield, the median is 9.0 gallons per minute. The middle half produces 6.0 to 12.0 gallons per minute. Seventy-one percent fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, and 19% report more than 15 gallons per minute.

Ten percent are in the 1-5 gallon-per-minute range, while none of the reported wells are under 1 gallon per minute. That is encouraging for many household buyers, but it does not guarantee performance on an untested lot. Yield is not the same as storage in the well or water quality. Ask for the well construction report, pump test information, and any production limits before sizing a home, livestock use, irrigation system, or storage tank. An exempt household-use well still has Colorado use and pumping rules.

Craig Water Levels Look Fairly Stable by Decade

The reported median static water level near Craig is 77 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 8 to 124 feet. Only 46 records include a static water level, so this is a smaller sample than the depth data and should not be treated as a parcel-specific measurement.

The decade comparison does not show a dropping pattern in these records. The median was 80 feet below surface in the 2010s and 74 feet in the 2020s, meaning the later reported measurements were slightly shallower. That difference is not proof that water levels are rising across Craig; measurement dates, locations, pumping, and seasonal conditions matter. A buyer should locate the static level on the actual well record and have a driller check current conditions before finalizing a pump design.

Craig’s Permit History Shows Long-Term Drilling Activity

Craig has a long permit record, with permits issued from the 1950s through the 2020s. The largest decade was the 1990s with 261 permits. The record includes 181 from the 2000s, 185 from the 2010s, and 133 from the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2026.

The most active drillers named in these records are Authorized (Pe, Pg), with 175 wells; Visintainer Co. (Visintainer, Walter), with 69; and Craig Drilling (Herod, James Leroy), with 65. Those names show who appears often in the permit history, not who is available for your project or who should receive the work. Before relying on an older neighboring well, check its construction, pump, yield, and water-level documentation. Wells near Hayden, Maybell, and Meeker can provide regional context, but Craig-area records are more relevant to a Craig parcel.

A Craig Well at Median Depth May Cost $16,900-$28,400 Finished

For Craig’s mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground, the cost model uses a typical drilling rate of $50-$75 per foot. At the 218-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $10,900-$16,400.

A finished system, including the pump, tank, trenching, and electrical, is estimated at $16,900-$28,400 at that median depth. The estimate changes if the hole must go substantially deeper, if access is difficult, or if the site needs more work than the model includes. Since the middle half of wells spans 26 to 374 feet, a bid based only on the median can understate the risk on a difficult parcel. Get the drilling rate, casing and grout terms, testing charges, pump package, trenching, electrical, and dry-hole terms in writing.

Craig Buyers Need to Check Water Quality and Site Constraints

Mapped environmental information deserves a closer look before purchase. Within about 10 miles of Craig, the records show 39 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 28 historic mine features, and 2 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These locations do not establish that a particular well is contaminated, but they are reasons to review maps, prior testing, and the proposed well location.

Low yield and dry holes remain possible even where nearby wells perform well, particularly with the large depth range and the predominance of unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer records. Septic design also needs adequate separation from the well and suitable soil and setbacks. Confirm the legal water use, DWR permit requirements, access for a rig, and the location of utilities before construction. If a property is in an over-appropriated basin, an augmentation plan may be required for the intended use.

Before Buying or Building Near Craig, Verify the Specific Lot

Start with the Colorado DWR records for the parcel and nearby wells. Compare reported depths, aquifers, construction details, yields, and static levels rather than relying on one neighbor. The local median yield of 9.0 gallons per minute is a useful planning figure, but only a minority of records report yield, so the data has limits.

For a purchase, make well condition, water testing, permit review, and a satisfactory inspection part of the contract. For a new build, have a driller evaluate access and likely depth before finalizing the house location. Coordinate the well, septic field, driveway, power trench, and building pad early. If you are comparing Craig with Hayden, Maybell, Oak Creek, Meeker, Clark, or Phippsburg, treat each area as its own groundwater setting and use the nearest relevant well records.

Well permits by decade near Craig

What a new well costs in Craig, 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 (374 ft) would run roughly $24,700–$40,050. 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 Craig? 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 Craig 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 Craig

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More in Moffat County

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

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