What Durango Wells Cost, Produce, and Require

How deep are wells around Durango?

How much water do wells make near Durango?

Durango well depths depend on the local ground

Durango-area wells have a 125-foot median depth. The middle half runs from 80 to 200 feet, so a driller bidding a typical parcel may be working within that range, while still allowing for a deeper hole. The 90th percentile is 340 feet, and the deepest record reaches 2,403 feet.

Depth records are mixed: 34% are under 100 feet, 51% fall from 100 to 300 feet, and 13% are between 300 and 600 feet. Permits most often name unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer conditions. In fractured rock, a short distance between lots can produce very different drilling results, so one nearby depth should not be treated as a guaranteed target.

How much water a Durango well may produce

The reported yield median is 12 gallons per minute, with the middle half from 7 to 15 gallons per minute. The yield mix is encouraging for many household uses: 46% of reported wells produce between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, while 42% report more than 15 gallons per minute.

Low-producing wells still occur. 11% report 1 to 5 gallons per minute, and 1% report under 1 gallon per minute. Only 337 wells in the records report a pump yield, compared with 2,498 total permitted wells, so these figures describe reported results rather than every well. Ask for a pumping test and storage plan, especially if the home will have irrigation, livestock, or several occupants.

Durango water levels and the recent record

Among the 73 wells reporting a static water level, the median depth to water is 58 feet, with the middle half from 32 to 80 feet below the surface. That gives a useful starting point for pump planning, but static levels vary with location, season, recent pumping, and the aquifer reached by the well.

The decade figures do not show a simple dropping pattern in this data. The median measured level was 70 feet below surface in the 2010s and 55 feet in the 2020s. Because the water-level sample is limited and the wells may not be comparable, do not use that change alone to predict long-term supply. A site-specific driller's evaluation and a properly documented water-level measurement matter more.

Durango’s drilling history and active names

Permit activity around Durango spans from the 1950s through the newest permit year, 2025. The busiest decade in these records was the 1990s, with 650 permits. The record also includes 372 permits from the 2000s, 271 from the 2010s, and 107 from the 2020s.

The most active listed drillers are Mortimer Water Well Drilling (Mortimer, Harry) with 260 records, Beeman Bros Drilling Inc (Beeman, J. L.) with 220, and Dak Drilling LLC (Rathjen, Doug) with 208. These names show who appears often in the permit history, not who is available for a new job. The newest permit record is a useful reminder to verify current licensing, insurance, scheduling, and references directly.

A realistic Durango well drilling budget

For the mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground described in the local cost model, a typical drilling rate is $50 to $75 per foot. At the 125-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $6,200 to $9,400.

That is not the complete water-system price. A finished well including the pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical work is estimated at $12,200 to $21,400 at the median depth. A bid should state what happens if the hole must go beyond the planned depth, if casing or grout requirements change, or if the well needs additional development. Driveway access, power distance, terrain, and water treatment can also affect the final scope, so compare written bids line by line.

Risks to check before buying near Durango

Low yield and dry-hole risk deserve attention because fractured-bedrock conditions can change sharply across short distances. The local records include 1% of reported yields under 1 gallon per minute, and the deepest well is 2,403 feet. A permit map can identify nearby wells, but it cannot promise the same depth or production on your parcel.

Water quality also needs its own investigation. Within about 10 miles are 84 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 41 historic mine features, and 12 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These mapped sites do not prove a problem at a particular house. Test an existing well before purchase and plan appropriate testing for a new well, including concerns tied to local land use and mine history. Confirm septic setbacks, building envelopes, access for a rig, and the permitted household use before relying on a property.

Buying or building a Durango-area lot

Start with the Colorado DWR permit record for the parcel and nearby wells, then compare depths, reported yields, water levels, use types, and aquifer descriptions. The surrounding record is mostly domestic or household use at 67%, with monitoring at 14%. That mix helps explain the local data but does not replace a review of the specific permit and legal water use.

Expand the search beyond Durango when useful. Nearby reference areas include Hesperus, Bayfield, Ignacio, Marvel, Southern Ute, and Mancos. Before closing, obtain a driller's access and depth opinion, price the full pump and electrical system, confirm septic and building setbacks, and check whether an augmentation plan is needed for the intended use. A pre-purchase water test and a written well contingency can prevent an expensive surprise.

Well permits by decade near Durango

What a new well costs in Durango, 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 $16,000–$27,000. 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 Durango? 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 Durango 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 Durango

Keep researching

More in La Plata County

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

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