Gardner, Colorado Well Information for Buyers and Builders

How deep are wells around Gardner?

How much water do wells make near Gardner?

Gardner well depths range from shallow to very deep

Among the 143 constructed wells that report a total depth, the median is 60 feet. The middle half falls between 40 and 100 feet, and 73% are under 100 feet. That gives a buyer a reasonable starting point for a shallow-well estimate, but it should not be treated as a local guarantee.

The spread matters when comparing drilling bids. Another 16% of wells are between 100 and 300 feet, while 9% fall between 300 and 600 feet. The 90th percentile is 294 feet, and one record reaches 775 feet. Permits mostly identify fractured bedrock or an unnamed aquifer, so granite and gneiss conditions can change quickly from one parcel to the next.

Reported Gardner well yields are usually usable, not uniform

Only 19 wells in the records report a pump yield, so the yield statistics are a smaller sample than the depth data. Within that group, the median reported yield is 10.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 1.9 and 13.0 gallons per minute.

The distribution gives a better sense of risk than the median alone. 5% report less than 1 gallon per minute, and 26% fall between 1 and 5 gallons per minute. Nearly half, 47%, are between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, while 21% report more than 15 gallons per minute. A low-yield well may still work with storage, but the pump test and proposed household use should be reviewed before closing.

The Gardner water-level records are limited

Only 7 permits report a static water level, so there is not enough local information to establish a dependable long-term trend. The reported median depth to water is 20 feet, and the middle half ranges from 12 to 34 feet. Those measurements describe conditions when the wells were recorded, not a guaranteed water level for a new well.

The permit history also does not show a simple decade-by-decade water-table conclusion. Records were issued from the 1950s through the 2020s, with the newest permit year listed as 2025, but permit counts are not water-level measurements. Ask for the well construction report, static level, pumping test, and any recent service history for the specific property. Neighboring wells can provide useful context, especially in fractured bedrock where conditions may change over a short distance.

Who has drilled around Gardner, and when

The local permit history reaches back to the 1950s and includes 264 wells in the Colorado DWR records. Of those, 143 are recorded as constructed. Permit activity was highest in the 2000s, with 58 permits, followed by 36 in the 2010s and 16 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025.

The most frequently listed drillers are Timber Line Drilling (Pfaffenhauser, Robert G.) with 19 records, Nequette Drilling (Nequette, David J.) with 11, and Alpine Drilling & Pump Co. (Tillerson, Milton F.) with 8. These names show who appears in the records, not who is available or best for your project. Confirm current licensing, insurance, scheduling, and the scope of the bid directly with any driller.

What a new Gardner well may cost

For Gardner’s fractured mountain bedrock, the drilling model uses a rate of $65-$100 per foot. At the local median depth of 60 feet, that puts the drilled hole at about $3,900-$6,000. This is only the drilling portion and should not be confused with the total project cost.

A finished system with a pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical work is modeled at about $9,900-$18,000 at that median depth. A deeper hole, difficult access, extra casing or grout, low-yield storage, or longer utility trench can move the final bid higher. Since the local records include wells down to 775 feet, request a written estimate that separates drilling, casing, grout, pump equipment, electrical, trenching, testing, and permit-related work.

Gardner risks to check before closing or building

Fractured-bedrock wells can be unpredictable. A nearby shallow well does not prove that a new hole will find the same water, and a good reported yield does not eliminate the need for a current pump test. The local records show 5% of reported yields under 1 gallon per minute, so ask how a low-yield result would be handled with storage or a deeper attempt.

Environmental screening also matters. Within about 10 miles are 2 PFAS sampling or contamination sites and 7 historic mine features. There are 0 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites in the mapped information, but that does not replace a property-specific water test. Review septic setbacks, drainfield room, access for drilling equipment, electrical service, and the well’s casing and grout records before finalizing a building plan.

A practical Gardner lot-buying checklist

Start by pulling the DWR permit and construction report for the well on the property, then compare it with nearby records in Gardner, Rye, Colorado City, La Veta, Beulah Valley, Walsenburg, or Silver Cliff. The local data show a median depth of 60 feet, but the broad range means the neighboring well that matters most is the one in similar ground and at a similar elevation.

Before buying, verify the well permit, legal use, pump test, static water level, water quality, septic approval, and the location of buried utilities. Domestic and household use appears on 76% of permits, while stock use appears on 39%; those categories do not automatically establish the rights needed for every future use. If you plan a new home, have a driller and septic designer review access, siting, storage needs, and the proposed building envelope before you commit to the lot.

Well permits by decade near Gardner

What a new well costs in Gardner, 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 (100 ft) would run roughly $12,500–$22,000. 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 Gardner? 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 Gardner 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 Gardner

Keep researching

More in Huerfano County

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

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