What Dillon, Colorado Wells Are Really Like

How deep are wells around Dillon?

How much water do wells make near Dillon?

Dillon well depths vary with the mountain ground

The median reported well depth near Dillon is 71 feet. The middle half of wells runs from 41 to 153 feet, while the 90th percentile reaches 240 feet. Sixty-two percent are under 100 feet, 32% fall between 100 and 300 feet, and 6% are between 300 and 600 feet. The deepest record is 845 feet.

Most permits name an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer: 2,007 wells do so. That matters when a driller prices a new hole. Granite and gneiss can produce water through fractures, so two nearby lots can require different depths. A bid based only on the 71-foot median may not cover a deeper hole, casing, grout, pump, or difficult access.

A 10 gpm median is a useful starting point

Of the permitted wells that report pump yield, the median is 10.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 7.0 and 15.0 gpm. Sixty-one percent report yields from 5 to 15 gpm, and 28% report more than 15 gpm. Eleven percent fall between 1 and 5 gpm. No reported wells are under 1 gpm.

For a buyer, that distribution is encouraging but not a promise of household performance. A well test should show recovery and sustained production, not just a brief pump reading. Confirm the permit's allowed use as well: 62% of the records are domestic or household wells, while monitoring wells make up 21%.

Dillon water levels do not show a simple steady decline

The median static water level is 27 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 14 to 51 feet. That is the water level when the well is not being pumped, not the depth of the well itself. Pump sizing and pressure-tank planning should use the actual well report rather than the area median.

Measurements by decade vary: 15 feet in the 1970s, 49 feet in the 1980s, 31 feet in the 1990s, 55 feet in the 2000s, 34 feet in the 2010s, and 16 feet in the 2020s. This series moves up and down rather than showing a consistent dropping trend. The number of water-level records is limited to 152, so a nearby well's current measurement deserves more weight.

Permit history shows long activity around Dillon

Dillon-area permit records extend from the 1950s through the newest permit year, 2025. Issuance was highest in the 1990s, with 405 permits, followed by 360 in the 2000s. The record includes 236 permits in the 1980s, 224 in the 1970s, 168 in the 2010s, 163 in the 2020s, 148 in the 1960s, and 8 in the 1950s.

The most active drillers in these records are Buena Vista Drilling, with 297 wells; Authorized, with 215; and Golden Eagle Drilling Corporation, with 212. These names describe historical permit records, not a recommendation. Ask for current licensing, insurance, references, and a written scope before hiring anyone.

Dillon drilling costs rise quickly in fractured bedrock

The local cost model uses a typical drilling rate of $65 to $100 per foot for fractured mountain bedrock, including granite and gneiss. At the 71-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $4,600 to $7,100. That is not the finished water system.

Adding a pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical brings the modeled completed-well range to about $10,600 to $19,100 at the median depth. A lot needing a deeper hole, difficult equipment access, more casing or grout, or additional site work can exceed that range. Get the drilling rate and included equipment in writing, and ask how the price changes if the first hole produces too little water.

Check water quality, dry-hole risk, and the building plan

Environmental records deserve a site-specific review. Within about 10 miles are 13 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 352 historic mine features, and 14 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Those records do not prove contamination on a particular parcel, but they are reasons to test existing water and understand nearby land uses, mine workings, and drainage.

Low yield and dry holes remain practical risks in fractured rock, even where nearby wells perform well. Before construction, confirm well location, septic setbacks, access for a drill rig, and the legal water use. An exempt household-use well has limits, including the 35 gpm pumping limit, and an augmentation plan may be needed in an over-appropriated basin. Check with Colorado DWR before relying on a permit for a new home.

Use nearby records before buying a Dillon lot

Start with wells closest to the parcel, then compare properties in Silverthorne, 3 miles away, and Frisco, 4 miles away, only as broader context. Keystone is 7 miles away, Breckenridge 9 miles, Montezuma 10 miles, and Blue River 12 miles. Ground conditions can change over short distances, so the nearest completed wells matter most.

For an existing home, request the permit, construction report, pump test, static water level, and recent laboratory results. For vacant land, have a driller review access, expected depth, casing and grout requirements, septic placement, and the cost if production is poor. Treat the area medians as planning tools, not guarantees. A well and septic feasibility review before closing can prevent a difficult building decision later.

Well permits by decade near Dillon

What a new well costs in Dillon, 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 (153 ft) would run roughly $15,945–$27,300. 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 Dillon? 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 Dillon 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 Dillon

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

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