Denver well records: what Adams County buyers should know

How deep are wells around Denver?

How much water do wells make near Denver?

Denver’s shallow median is not a household-well bid

Among the 4,718 records reporting depth, the median is 29 feet, and the middle half runs from 20 to 45 feet. That is a useful range for understanding the records, but monitoring wells dominate this permit pool. It is not a dependable target depth for a new domestic well.

Depths under 100 feet account for 94% of reported depths; the deepest record reaches 2,023 feet. Permits name Alluvial and Denver aquifers, while many use an unnamed or fractured-bedrock category. Those labels do not establish your parcel’s geology. Ask a driller to identify the intended water-bearing formation and compare wells serving the same purpose before setting a footage allowance.

Reported Denver yields look strong, but the sample is narrow

Only 126 wells report pump yield, so the yield figures describe a much narrower group than the permit map. The median is 33.0 gpm, with a middle-half range of 15.0–73.8 gpm. Among those reported yields, 75% are at least 15 gpm and 4% fall in the 1–5 gpm band.

The reported share under 1 gpm is 0%. That does not guarantee a productive hole on an untested lot. A pump-yield entry is also not the same as sustainable household capacity or legal permission to pump at that rate. For a purchase, get a current pumping test that documents drawdown and recovery, then review the permit’s allowed uses.

Water is often shallow, without a steady downward trend

The median static water level is 10 feet below ground, with the middle half between 7 and 17 feet. These measurements come from 271 records. Static level means where water stands when the well is not being pumped; it is not the well’s total depth or a measure of how much water it can deliver.

Decade medians are 26 feet in the 1960s, 9 feet in the 2000s, 11 feet in the 2010s and 9 feet in the 2020s. That series does not show a steadily dropping water table. It also compares different groups of measurements, not necessarily repeat readings from the same wells. Check site-specific groundwater conditions before planning a basement, excavation or septic system.

Denver permit activity includes more than residential drilling

Permit issuance was substantial in the 1990s, with 2,034 records, and the 2010s, with 2,060. The 2020s have 737 permits in this dataset, and the newest permit year is 2025. Issuance is not proof that a well was completed, and this monitoring-heavy history should not be read as a count of new household supplies.

The largest entry in the driller field is Authorized (Pe, Pg), with 3,204 records; that label should not be treated as a conventional drilling-company name. Other active entries include Ground Exploration Llc (Bender, Joseph T.), with 270, and Layne, Christensen Co. (Tormoehlen, David A.), with 141. Historical activity does not establish current availability or suitability for a domestic project.

What the Denver drilling estimate actually covers

The supplied cost model uses Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock and a drilling rate of $50–$70 per foot. At the recorded median depth of 29 feet, it puts the drilled hole at about $1,400–$2,000 and a finished well with pump, tank, trenching and electrical at about $7,400–$14,000.

Treat that as a conditional estimate, not a household-well quote. The median comes from a monitoring-heavy dataset, and a permitted domestic source may require a different depth or construction. Request a written scope covering casing, grout, development, testing, access and connection work. Have the contractor identify what happens to the price if the planned depth does not produce a usable supply.

Denver water-quality and construction risks to investigate

The environmental map lists 662 PFAS sampling or contamination sites and 182 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites within about 10 miles. A mapped site is a reason to investigate, not proof that a nearby well is contaminated. Sampling locations and confirmed contamination are not interchangeable.

Before buying, obtain current water testing and review relevant cleanup records with a qualified water-quality professional. Ask about PFAS testing as well as routine household-well testing. Inspect the wellhead and construction documentation for casing and grout protection. A favorable nearby yield cannot rule out a low-producing or unsuccessful new hole. For building, coordinate the well, septic layout, drainage and excavation access before committing to a house location.

Buying a Denver-area lot: verify the usable water source

Start with the parcel’s actual water arrangement, not the nearest dot on the well map. Confirm whether it has a permitted household well, another type of well or a public-water connection. A monitoring permit does not authorize a household supply, and an exempt household-use permit does not automatically allow every outdoor use.

Compare construction reports from nearby properties around North Washington, Derby and Welby only when the aquifer, use and site conditions are relevant. Ask DWR about permit eligibility and whether augmentation or other approvals apply. Make the purchase decision depend on documented water rights and permitted uses, a satisfactory pumping test, water-quality results and a workable well-and-septic site plan.

Well permits by decade near Denver

What a new well costs in Denver, 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 (45 ft) would run roughly $8,250–$15,150. 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 Denver? 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 Denver 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 Denver

Keep researching

More in Adams County

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

Nearby areas