Fort Morgan, Colorado Well Depths, Yields, and Costs

How deep are wells around Fort Morgan?

How much water do wells make near Fort Morgan?

Fort Morgan wells are usually shallow

The median reported well depth near Fort Morgan is 99 feet. The middle half runs from 65 to 120 feet, so a driller bidding a typical site will usually be working in that range rather than planning for a very deep hole. Half of the recorded wells are under 100 feet, while 49% fall between 100 and 300 feet. Only 1% are between 300 and 600 feet, and none are recorded at 600 feet or deeper.

The deepest well in the records is 500 feet. Local permits most often name an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer, with 1,963 wells in that category. Alluvial and Quaternary Alluvium wells account for 70 and 48 records. The exact site still matters: plains sediment and fractured rock can change casing, grout, and drilling time from one lot to the next.

Reported well yields are strong, but verify the record

Among the 312 Fort Morgan-area wells that report a pump yield, the median is 15.0 gallons per minute. The middle half is listed as 15.0 to 698.5 gallons per minute, and 94% report more than 15 gallons per minute. Only 1% report 1 to 5 gallons per minute, 6% report 5 to 15 gallons per minute, and 0% report under 1 gallon per minute.

That is encouraging for a buyer, but it does not guarantee the well on a particular parcel will perform the same way. Ask for the well construction report, pump test information, permitted use, and current equipment condition. A household-use exempt well is subject to Colorado rules, including the 35 gpm exempt-well pumping limit. Irrigation and other uses may require different water rights or approvals.

Water levels show no clear long-term drop

Only 80 wells in the local records report a static water level, so this part of the dataset is smaller than the depth and permit records. The median depth to water is 38 feet, with the middle half between 21 and 50 feet below the surface.

The decade comparison does not show a simple steadily dropping water table. The median was 30 feet below surface in the 1950s, 24 feet in the 2010s, and 32 feet in the 2020s. These measurements come from different wells and locations, so they are not a continuous reading from one monitoring point. For a purchase, have the existing well checked while it is under normal household demand and compare the measured water level with the construction report.

Permit history runs from early records to 2025

Fort Morgan has a long well-permit history. The records show 302 permits issued in the 1950s, 126 in the 1960s, 271 in the 1970s, 115 in the 1980s, 185 in the 1990s, 229 in the 2000s, 146 in the 2010s, and 68 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025.

Most permitted uses are domestic or household at 50%, followed by irrigation at 18%, stock at 15%, and monitoring at 12%. The most active names in the records are Canfield Drilling Company, also listed as Canfield, Harold E, with 389 records; Canfield, Leslie George, with 204; and Authorized (Pe, Pg), with 161. These names describe permit history, not a recommendation or proof of current availability.

A typical Fort Morgan well costs more than the hole

For the alluvium and plains sedimentary rock described in the local cost model, drilling is estimated at $35 to $55 per foot. At the 99-foot median depth, the drilled hole alone models to about $3,500 to $5,400.

A usable water system includes more than drilling. The local model puts a finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical at about $9,500 to $17,400. Treat that as a planning range, not a fixed bid. Access, casing and grout requirements, difficult ground, water testing, pump size, electrical distance, and the final well depth can move the price. Get a written proposal that separates drilling from completion and identifies what happens if the hole does not produce enough water.

Check contamination, septic layout, and dry-hole risk

Environmental review deserves attention around Fort Morgan. Mapped sites within about 10 miles include 24 PFAS sampling or contamination sites and 3 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. No historic mine features are mapped in that area. These records do not prove a private well is contaminated, but they are a reason to test existing water and review nearby land uses before closing.

Low yield is not prominent in the reported records, yet a dry hole or poor-producing interval remains a site-specific risk, especially where fractured rock is involved. Confirm the well location, casing and grout details, septic system, replacement area, and proposed building footprint. Keep the well and septic layout compliant with applicable separation requirements, and check whether the permitted use supports the house, livestock, irrigation, or future plans.

Use nearby wells to price and investigate the lot

Before buying near Fort Morgan, pull the DWR permit and construction records for the parcel and compare them with nearby wells in Log Lane Village, Trail Side, Morgan Heights, Blue Sky, Saddle Ridge, and Brush. Neighboring records can help establish a realistic depth and yield range, but they are not a guarantee for your lot.

For an existing home, ask for a flow test, pressure-tank inspection, pump information, water-quality testing, and evidence that the use matches the permit. For vacant land, get a driller's site review before relying on a cost allowance. If the intended use is more than ordinary household service, check water-rights requirements early. In an over-appropriated basin, an augmentation plan may be needed for some uses.

Well permits by decade near Fort Morgan

What a new well costs in Fort Morgan, 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 (120 ft) would run roughly $10,200–$18,600. 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 Fort Morgan? 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 Fort Morgan 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 Fort Morgan

Keep researching

More in Morgan County

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

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