Franktown, Colorado Well Depth, Yield and Cost Guide

How deep are wells around Franktown?

How much water do wells make near Franktown?

Franktown Well Depth: Plan for a Deep Hole

Franktown wells have a median reported depth of 355 feet. The middle half runs from 281 to 478 feet, so a driller’s bid based only on a shallow estimate would be risky. About 54% of recorded wells fall between 300 and 600 feet, while 18% are deeper than 600 feet. The deepest well in the records reaches 2,956 feet.

Depth varies with the selected Denver Basin aquifer, the local sedimentary sequence and the amount of usable water encountered. Permits identify the Upper Dawson on 1,540 wells, unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers on 1,255, and the Lower Dawson on 643. Those labels help with context, but only a site-specific design and neighboring well review can set a reliable target.

What Franktown Wells Produce

Among the 1,881 wells reporting a pump yield, the median is 13.0 gallons per minute. The middle half is 11.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute. About 64% report between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, and 35% report more than 15 gallons per minute. No reported well in this dataset is under 1 gallon per minute, while 1% fall between 1 and 5.

That is a favorable local record, but a reported pumping rate is not the same as guaranteed household supply. Storage, recovery, pump sizing and simultaneous demand still matter. Confirm the well’s permitted use: 78% of local permits are domestic or household, with stock, irrigation and monitoring uses also represented. An exempt household-use well is subject to Colorado rules, including the 35-gpm pumping limit.

Franktown Water Levels and the Long View

Only 304 wells report a static water level, so this part of the record is thinner than the depth and yield data. The median depth to water is 150 feet, with the middle half from 101 to 264 feet below ground surface. That affects pump placement, electrical planning and the amount of casing and equipment below grade.

The decade series does not show a simple, continuing decline. Reported median water levels moved from 62 feet below surface in the 1960s to 156 in the 1970s, 204 in the 1980s and 215 in the 2000s, then returned to 160 in the 2010s and 140 in the 2020s. These are measurements from different wells and dates, not a controlled water-table study, so treat the pattern as context rather than a prediction.

Franktown Drilling History and Local Contractors

Franktown has a long permit history. Records show 33 permits in the 1950s, 96 in the 1960s, 623 in the 1970s, 837 in the 1980s, 939 in the 1990s, 428 in the 2000s, 356 in the 2010s and 252 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025. The record is therefore broad enough to compare nearby construction, depth and yield information.

The most represented drillers are Hier Drilling Co Inc, listed with Bruce A. Hier, at 838 records; Hier Drilling Co., listed with Peter J. Hier, at 507; and Hamacher Well Works Inc, listed with Alan Ray Hamacher, at 405. Those counts describe historical records, not current availability or a recommendation. Ask any bidder to review wells near your parcel, including in The Pinery, Castle Rock and Parker.

Franktown Well Drilling Cost at Local Depths

The cost model for Franktown’s Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock uses a typical drilling rate of $50 to $70 per foot. At the local median depth of 355 feet, the drilled hole is estimated at about $17,800 to $24,800. That is only the hole, not the complete water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical is estimated at about $23,800 to $36,800 at that median depth. A deeper-than-median hole can move the price substantially, especially if the 600-foot range or more is needed. Get a written proposal that states assumed depth, casing and grout, pump equipment, access, trenching, electrical work and what happens if the hole must be deepened or produces poorly.

Franktown Risks Before You Build or Buy

Water quality deserves its own investigation. The mapped area within about 10 miles includes 30 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 24 historic mine features and 3 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These mapped locations do not prove contamination at a particular well, but they are a reason to obtain a current laboratory test and review nearby land uses and available agency records.

Low yield and dry holes remain possible even where the local median is strong. Fractured-bedrock wells can be especially unpredictable. Check the well construction report, pump test, static level and maintenance history. Also verify the septic reserve area, separation from the well, driveway access, building envelope and grading. If the basin is over-appropriated, confirm the water right or augmentation-plan requirements before assuming a new domestic well can serve the proposed use.

Due Diligence for a Franktown Lot

Before closing, pull the DWR permit and construction records for the property and compare them with nearby wells. A strong comparison set can include The Pinery, Ponderosa Park, Castle Rock, Elizabeth, Parker and Castle Pines, but the closest wells with similar geology are the most useful. Look for depth, aquifer, casing, static level, yield and any notes about problems.

For a new build, have a driller and excavation contractor review access for the rig, the proposed well location, septic layout, utility trenching and final grades together. Budget from the local median only as a starting point. Confirm permitted use, test the water before relying on it, and make sure the home design works if the well is deeper or the equipment costs more than the initial allowance.

Well permits by decade near Franktown

What a new well costs in Franktown, 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 (478 ft) would run roughly $29,900–$45,460. 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 Franktown? 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 Franktown 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 Franktown

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

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