What De Beque Wells Are Really Like

How deep are wells around De Beque?

How much water do wells make near De Beque?

De Beque Well Depth Depends on the Ground Below the Lot

The median reported well depth near De Beque is 63 feet, and the middle half runs from 48 to 106 feet. That makes a shallow well a reasonable starting assumption for a drilling estimate, but not a safe promise. Seventy-one percent of reported wells are under 100 feet, while 19% fall between 300 and 600 feet. The deepest record reaches 1,350 feet.

For a buyer, the spread matters more than the median. A driller bidding a 63-foot hole may be close for one alluvial location and far off for a parcel in more difficult fractured ground. Ask for nearby completed well logs, casing and grout details, and a written explanation of what happens if the first target does not produce.

Reported De Beque Yields Are Strong, but the Sample Is Small

Among the 18 wells with a reported pump yield, the median is 15.0 gallons per minute. The middle half is 13.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute, and 61% of reported wells produce more than 15 gallons per minute. Another 33% fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute. Six percent are in the 1-to-5-gallon range, and none of the reported wells are under 1 gallon per minute.

Those figures are encouraging for household planning, but only 18 records include yield information. A permit map is not a test of your parcel. Confirm the expected yield with the driller and plan storage around the well's actual production. An exempt household-use well also has a 35-gallon-per-minute pumping limit, regardless of a higher reported capacity.

De Beque Water Levels Look Shallow in the Available Records

Only 8 wells report a static water level, so the water-level sample is limited. The median depth to water is 9 feet, with the middle half between 6 and 12 feet. That suggests shallow groundwater in the wells with measurements, which can reduce pumping lift and affect excavation planning.

The permit history does not provide a complete water-level-by-decade series, so it cannot establish a reliable trend of a dropping or rising water table. Do not treat the shallow median as a guarantee for an untested lot. Seasonal conditions, well construction and the local aquifer can all affect the measurement. A driller should verify water level during construction and explain how it affects pump placement and protection from surface water.

De Beque Permit History Shows Long-Term Drilling Activity

Permit activity is spread across several decades, with the largest group in the 2000s: 43 permits. The records include 27 permits from the 2010s and 7 from the 2020s, with the newest permit issued in 2025. Domestic or household wells make up 51% of the use mix. Monitoring wells account for 26%, stock use 10%, and irrigation 4%.

Most recorded drilling is associated with Shelton Drilling Corporation, listed on 47 wells. Authorized, identified as Pe, Pg, appears on 10, and Steve Shelton Drilling, Inc., identified as Shelton, Steve, appears on 3. A permit name is not a recommendation or a current availability check. Use the records to identify local experience, then verify licensing, insurance, scheduling and the exact scope of the bid.

A De Beque Well May Cost $9,200 to $16,700 Finished

The local cost model assumes mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground. Typical drilling is priced at $50 to $75 per foot. At the 63-foot median depth, the drilled hole is estimated at about $3,200 to $4,700. That is only the hole, not a usable water system.

A finished well including the pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical is estimated at $9,200 to $16,700 at the median depth. A deeper-than-typical hole, difficult access, casing requirements or an unsuccessful first attempt can change the final bill. Ask whether the quote includes permitting, casing, grout, development, pump testing, electrical work and connection to the house. Get the depth assumption in writing so a per-foot price can be compared fairly.

Checks That Matter Before Building Near De Beque

Yield is not the only risk. The depth records range from shallow wells to a 1,350-foot record, and fractured-bedrock conditions can be unpredictable even across nearby parcels. Ask about the chance of a dry hole, the contractor's backup plan and the cost of abandoning or redrilling if the target fails.

Environmental review also belongs in the purchase decision. The mapped area within about 10 miles includes 72 PFAS sampling or contamination sites. There are no historic mine features and no EPA Superfund or cleanup sites in the supplied records, but that does not replace a property-specific water test. Check the well location, septic setbacks, drainfield area, access for a rig, and room for a pressure tank and utilities before finalizing a building site. Confirm water rights, permit conditions and any augmentation requirement with Colorado DWR, especially where water use is legally constrained.

Use Nearby Wells Before Choosing a De Beque Lot

Start with the well permits closest to the parcel, then compare their depths, aquifer descriptions, construction details and reported yields. The broader records around De Beque can provide context, but a nearby log is more useful than a regional average. Look at properties toward Parachute and Mesa as well as the immediate area, while remembering that distance does not make ground conditions identical. Collbran, Battlement Mesa, Palisade and Fruitvale are also nearby reference areas in the broader map.

Before closing, make the well investigation a written contingency when possible. Have a Colorado driller review the logs, inspect access and price the complete system rather than just drilling. If you are building, reserve the well, septic and driveway areas together. A lot can have adequate water and still be difficult or expensive because the well pad, septic field and house cannot be arranged safely.

Well permits by decade near De Beque

What a new well costs in De Beque, 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 (106 ft) would run roughly $11,300–$19,950. 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 De Beque? 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 De Beque 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 De Beque

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

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