Crested Butte Well Depth, Yield, and Cost

How deep are wells around Crested Butte?

How much water do wells make near Crested Butte?

Crested Butte well depths vary with the bedrock

The median recorded well depth near Crested Butte is 108 feet. The middle half runs from 52 to 200 feet, so a bid based on the median may fit many lots but not all of them. Another 36% of records fall between 100 and 300 feet, while 15% reach 300 to 600 feet. Four percent are deeper than 600 feet, and the deepest record reaches 1,000 feet.

That spread is typical of fractured mountain ground, including granite and gneiss. Water-bearing fractures can be productive at one location and absent a short distance away. For a buyer, neighboring well depth is useful for setting expectations and asking for a realistic drilling allowance, but it does not establish the depth on a new homesite.

Most Crested Butte wells make usable flow, but not all

Among the 196 records reporting pump yield, the median is 11.5 gallons per minute. The middle half falls between 5.0 and 15.0 gallons per minute. Forty-three percent report more than 15 gallons per minute, 34% report 5 to 15 gallons per minute, and 22% report 1 to 5 gallons per minute. One percent report less than 1 gallon per minute.

A low-producing well can still serve a carefully designed household when storage and demand are matched to the supply. Ask for the actual pumping test, recovery information, and storage plan rather than relying only on a permit. Household-use exempt wells are generally limited to 35 gallons per minute for pumping, and the permitted use matters as much as the physical yield.

Recorded water levels do not show a simple decline

The 53 records with static water-level measurements show a median depth to water of 24 feet, with the middle half between 15 and 80 feet below the surface. Those measurements are not the same as a guaranteed pumping water level. A well can have water standing relatively close to the surface and still lose pressure or yield when pumped.

By measurement decade, the median static level was 42 feet below surface in the 2010s and 34 feet in the 2020s. That change is shallower, not deeper, so this series does not indicate a dropping water table. The sample is limited and may reflect different locations, seasons, and well conditions. Have the driller measure the proposed well after construction and testing.

Permit history shows long use around Crested Butte

Permit records go back to the 1950s, with the largest group issued in the 1990s at 288 permits. The record includes 203 permits from the 2000s, 104 from the 2010s, and 67 from the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025. Domestic and household wells make up 61% of the recorded use, while monitoring wells account for 23%.

Bob Williams Drilling Co., listed as Williams, Robert F., appears most often with 329 records. Wildcat Drilling & Pump, Inc., listed as Kissner, Billy D., appears with 59, and Authorized, listed as Pe, Pg, appears with 57. These names describe permit history, not a recommendation or proof of current availability. Confirm licensing, insurance, references, and current scheduling before hiring.

What a new Crested Butte well may cost

In the fractured granite and gneiss around Crested Butte, the drilling rate used for planning is $65 to $100 per foot. At the local median depth of 108 feet, the drilled hole works out to about $7,000 to $10,800. That is not the complete water-system price.

A finished well with a pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at about $13,000 to $22,800 at that depth. A deeper hole can move beyond that range, and difficult access, casing, grout, road work, storage, or treatment can add more. Have a contractor separate drilling, casing, pump equipment, testing, trenching, and electrical in the bid so the comparison is clear.

Check mine history, septic layout, and building limits

Environmental review deserves attention before buying. The area within about 10 miles has 467 historic mine features, 5 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites, and 1 PFAS sampling or contamination site. Those facts do not prove a problem on a particular parcel, but they are reasons to check agency records, prior testing, and the well’s construction history. Test existing water for the contaminants appropriate to the site and intended use.

Low yield, a dry hole, or poor recovery can be more serious than the initial drilling price. Confirm a septic area, reserve area, driveway route, and building envelope before committing to a homesite. Maintain separation between the well and septic system as required, and have the county and a qualified designer review the proposed layout.

Well permits by decade near Crested Butte

What a new well costs in Crested Butte, 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 (200 ft) would run roughly $19,000–$32,000. 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 Crested Butte? 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 Crested Butte 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 Crested Butte

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

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