Colorado Well Finder › Wells by county › Douglas County
A Douglas County well budget needs to account for substantial drilling depth. The median recorded well is 362 feet deep, and the middle half runs from 234 to 550 feet. That spread matters more to a land buyer than a single countywide average.
Colorado DWR records include 22,263 permitted wells across the county. Use those records to narrow your expectations around Parker, Franktown, The Pinery or Castle Rock, then check the aquifer, construction details and permit conditions for the actual property. Countywide figures are a starting point, not a drilling guarantee.
Figures are computed from Colorado Division of Water Resources permit records for all permitted wells in the county. Not every permit reports every field; each statistic uses the wells that report it.
| Depth statistic | Feet |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 234 |
| Median | 362 |
| 75th percentile | 550 |
| 90th percentile | 774 |
| Deepest on record | 3,220 |
| Aquifer named on permits | Wells |
|---|---|
| unnamed / fractured-bedrock aquifer | 9,021 |
| Upper Dawson | 3,225 |
| Denver | 2,830 |
| Yield statistic | gpm |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 10.0 |
| Median | 12.5 |
| 75th percentile | 15.0 |
| Median depth to water | 190 ft |
| Median water level by decade | Depth to water |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 140 ft |
| 1960s | 82 ft |
| 1970s | 136 ft |
| 1980s | 200 ft |
| 1990s | 305 ft |
| 2000s | 300 ft |
| 2010s | 190 ft |
| 2020s | 180 ft |
Of the 13,651 wells reporting depth, the median is 362 feet. The middle half spans 234-550 feet, while the 90th-percentile depth reaches 774 feet. For a driller's bid, that means the median is a useful allowance—not a sensible fixed stopping depth.
Aquifer selection drives much of the planning. Denver Basin aquifer wells account for 92% of the records. Named aquifers include Upper Dawson and Denver, alongside a large unnamed/fractured-bedrock category. The county's mountain setting does not mean every parcel calls for fractured-granite drilling; the cost model here assumes Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock.
Compare wells completed in the intended aquifer near your lot. A nearby well drawing from a different aquifer can give a misleading depth target.
The 8,162 wells with reported pump yields have a median of 12.5 gpm, with the middle half at 10.0-15.0 gpm. That is an encouraging starting range for household planning, but a recorded pump yield is not proof of sustained production under today's conditions.
The reported share under 1 gpm is 0%, and 2% fall in the 1-5 gpm band. Do not read that as a guarantee against a weak well: these figures describe wells with yield entries, not every permit or every attempted hole.
For an existing home around Franktown or The Pinery, request a current pumping and recovery test. Match the result to household demand, storage needs and the uses actually allowed by the permit.
Static water level is the depth to water while the well is resting—not the bottom of the hole. Among 1,300 reporting wells, the median is 190 feet below ground, and the middle half ranges from 101 to 364 feet. Those measurements help frame pumping lift, but they cannot determine a pump setting by themselves.
Decade medians moved from 140 feet in the 1950s to 305 feet in the 1990s, then to 180 feet in the 2020s. This is not a steady deepening trend. It also does not prove aquifer recovery, because different wells and aquifers may be represented in each decade.
Look for repeated measurements from the same well or nearby wells in the same aquifer before judging local change.
Permit issuance was highest in the listed decades during the 1990s, with 4,318 permits. The records show 2,131 in the 2010s and 1,252 in the 2020s, with the newest permit dated 2025. The latest decade is incomplete, so its lower total is not a straight comparison.
Among prominent driller entries are Hier Drilling Co Inc (Hier, Bruce A.), with 4,671 records, and Hier Drilling Co. (Hier, Peter J), with 1,855. These are historical record labels, not confirmation of current availability.
Of 22,263 permits, 12,631 are recorded as constructed. A permit alone does not establish that a working well exists. Domestic/household use accounts for 69% of the use mix, but each property's authorization still needs checking.
The local model uses $50-$70 per foot for drilling in Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock. At the 362-foot median depth, that puts the drilled hole at about $18,100-$25,300. A finished well with pump, tank, trenching and electrical is modeled at about $24,100-$37,300.
Keep those scopes separate when comparing bids. A hole-only price is not a functioning water system, and the county's 234-550-foot middle depth range leaves considerable room for the drilling total to change.
Ask what the quote includes for casing, grout, testing and site access. Confirm how additional footage, pump requirements and the trench route to the house will be priced. Use the modeled range as a planning allowance, not a parcel-specific quote.
The environmental screening includes 127 PFAS sampling/contamination sites, 31 historic mine features and 18 EPA Superfund/cleanup sites within about 10 miles. Mapped proximity does not establish contamination in a particular well. Sampling locations are not automatically confirmed contamination sources, either.
Review the individual site records and arrange water testing suited to the property's setting. Check casing condition, the sanitary wellhead and drainage around it. A clear-looking sample does not establish that water is safe.
The permit inventory does not establish a dry-hole rate. Ask the driller about unsuccessful nearby attempts and how an unsuccessful hole would be handled. Before fixing the house footprint, coordinate the well location with septic siting, access and grading requirements.
Start with the property's DWR permit and completion records, then compare neighboring wells around Parker, Castle Rock, Grand View Estates or the relevant local area. Favor comparable aquifers and construction details over simple proximity. Countywide medians can conceal meaningful differences between lots.
Verify permitted use before designing the property. A household-use permit should not be treated as automatic authorization for irrigation or livestock. Depending on the proposed supply and use, water-rights review or an augmentation plan may be necessary.
For an existing well, obtain current yield, recovery and water-quality results. For a vacant lot, coordinate the drilling estimate with driveway access, septic feasibility and the house location before committing to a building layout or purchase budget.
| Decade permitted | Wells |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 233 |
| 1960s | 631 |
| 1970s | 3,312 |
| 1980s | 3,464 |
| 1990s | 4,318 |
| 2000s | 3,114 |
| 2010s | 2,131 |
| 2020s | 1,252 |
| Most active drillers on record | Wells |
|---|---|
| Hier Drilling Co Inc (Hier, Bruce A.) | 4,671 |
| Hier Drilling Co. (Hier, Peter J) | 1,855 |
| Authorized (Pe, Pg) | 977 |
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 (550 ft) would run roughly $33,500–$50,500. See the full Colorado well cost guide.
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.
The numbers above are the area average. Your lot is one point on the map. Search the address to see the real depth, yield and aquifer of each permitted well around it.
Map wells near Douglas CountyFor a Douglas County lot, Tri-Lakes Contracting is a licensed Colorado contractor for access driveways, site development, new-build septic systems and custom homes. Plan those elements alongside the well location so access, grading and the house layout work together.
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A listing photo can't tell you whether a lot is a dream or a money pit. Two parcels near Douglas County 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.
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.
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The median recorded depth is 362 feet, based on 13,651 wells reporting depth. The middle half is 234-550 feet, and the 90th percentile is 774 feet. For a specific lot, compare nearby wells completed in the same aquifer; the county median is a budgeting reference, not a guaranteed drilling depth.
The model uses $50-$70 per foot for Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock. At the 362-foot median depth, the hole alone is about $18,100-$25,300. A finished well with pump, tank, trenching and electrical is about $24,100-$37,300. Actual bids depend on depth, construction requirements, access and the route to the house.
Reported pump yield has a median of 12.5 gpm, with the middle half at 10.0-15.0 gpm. Those figures come from 8,162 wells with yield entries. They are useful for initial household planning, but an existing well needs a current pumping and recovery test before you rely on its supply.
The countywide records cannot establish safety at your tap. The environmental screening lists 127 PFAS sampling/contamination sites, 31 historic mine features and 18 EPA Superfund/cleanup sites within about 10 miles. Those counts are screening information, not proof that your well is affected. Review nearby site details and obtain property-specific water testing.
The supplied measurements do not show a steady countywide decline. Median depth to water was 305 feet in the 1990s and 180 feet in the 2020s, but the decades may represent different wells and aquifers. The overall median is 190 feet. Repeated measurements from the same well are more useful for evaluating local change.
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