Frederick, Colorado Well Depths, Yields and Costs

How deep are wells around Frederick?

How much water do wells make near Frederick?

Frederick’s shallow wells still have a wide depth range

Depth records around Frederick are concentrated near the surface: 77% are under 100 feet. Another 10% fall from 100 to 300 feet, 10% from 300 to 600 feet, and 3% exceed 600 feet. The middle half, from 15 to 80 feet, is the useful starting point for a local bid.

For a buyer, the important point is the spread. A median of 23 feet may support a shallow-hole estimate, but a nearby deep outlier shows that geology and the target aquifer can change the plan. Permits name unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers most often, followed by alluvial and Laramie Fox Hills sources. Have the driller review neighboring completion records before pricing the work.

What Frederick wells produce

Among the 156 records reporting pump yield, the median is 11.2 gallons per minute. The middle half is 10.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute. 62% report yields from 5 to 15 gallons per minute, while 32% report more than 15 gallons per minute. No reported wells fall under 1 gallon per minute, and 6% fall from 1 to 5 gallons per minute.

That is a relatively strong local record, but it is not a promise for an unbuilt well. Yield depends on the formation, completion and pumping test. Ask what rate the driller expects to test and what storage tank size will be needed. A household well also has to meet the limits and conditions on its DWR permit.

Frederick water levels and recent measurements

The reported static water level has a median depth of 9 feet, with the middle half between 6 and 14 feet below the ground surface. That means many recorded wells encounter standing water close to the surface, but it does not describe the pumping level under sustained household demand.

The decade comparison does not show a dropping water table in these records: the median was 9 feet below surface in the 2010s and 8 feet in the 2020s. Treat that as a broad record-based snapshot, not a site guarantee. Only 158 wells report static water level, and measurement conditions vary. A driller should check nearby logs and account for seasonal conditions when evaluating a lot.

Who has drilled around Frederick, and when

DWR records show drilling activity stretching from the 1950s through the newest permit year, 2026. Permit counts were 28 in the 1950s, 35 in the 1960s, 184 in the 1970s, 113 in the 1980s, 201 in the 1990s, 377 in the 2000s, 286 in the 2010s, and 362 in the 2020s.

The most active names in the records are Authorized (Pe, Pg), with 669 wells, followed by Waneka & Son Drilling (Waneka, Don), with 67, and A. E. Crandall & Sons (Williams, G C), with 50. Those counts describe permit records, not a recommendation or proof that a company is available for a new project.

A Frederick well’s drilling cost

The local cost model uses Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock and a drilling rate of $50-$70 per foot. At the recorded median depth of 23 feet, the drilled hole is modeled at about $1,200-$1,600. That is only the hole, not the complete water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical is modeled at about $7,200-$13,600 at the median depth. Actual bids can move outside that range when depth, casing, grout, access, power distance, water treatment or difficult ground changes. Get a written scope that separates drilling from pump equipment, trenching and electrical. A shallow record nearby should not be used as a fixed price for your parcel.

Frederick risks beyond depth and yield

Frederick’s records show 98% of permitted wells associated with Denver Basin aquifers. The aquifer name alone does not establish safe drinking water or a reliable result on an individual lot. Test a private well after construction and ask what treatment may be needed for the water's actual chemistry.

Mapped environmental information also deserves a parcel-level review: there are 1,344 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 38 historic mine features and 9 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites within about 10 miles. Mapping proximity is not proof of contamination, but it is a reason to check the address, test the water and understand land-use history.

Before building, confirm septic setbacks, reserve area, access for a rig, electrical routing and separation from livestock or other potential sources. Low-yield and dry-hole risk still needs a driller's opinion even though no reported yield is under 1 gallon per minute.

Buying or building on a Frederick lot

Start with the Colorado DWR permit file, not a seller's verbal estimate. Of the 2,090 wells in this area, 1,075 are recorded as constructed and 1,144 report total depth. The missing construction and yield information matters when a property has few close neighbors or an unusual aquifer designation.

Have a licensed driller compare the closest logs in Frederick, Dacono, Firestone, Erie, Leyner, Longmont and Mead only when they are genuinely comparable in geology and use. Confirm the permit allows the intended household use; exempt household-use wells have specific limits, including the general 35 gallons per minute pumping limit. If the basin or proposed use requires more water, an augmentation plan may be necessary.

For new construction, coordinate the well location with the septic system, driveway, foundation, utility trench and future repairs. Put testing, well completion, pump sizing and water treatment allowances into the project budget before closing.

Well permits by decade near Frederick

What a new well costs in Frederick, 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 (80 ft) would run roughly $10,000–$17,600. 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 Frederick? 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 Frederick 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 Frederick

Keep researching

More in Weld County

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

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