What Genesee Wells Are Really Like

How deep are wells around Genesee?

How much water do wells make near Genesee?

Genesee well depth follows the mountain bedrock

The median permitted well depth around Genesee is 320 feet. The middle half runs from 134 to 552 feet, which is a wide spread for a driller estimating a new hole. About 19% of reported wells are under 100 feet, 26% fall between 100 and 300 feet, 32% between 300 and 600 feet, and 23% are deeper than 600 feet.

The deepest recorded well is 4,095 feet, but that is not a normal bid target. Most permits name an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer; 3,949 wells are in that category. Fractured granite is named on 24 permits and fractured crystalline material on 20. In this setting, fractures control where water enters the hole, so nearby depth is helpful evidence but not a promise.

A seven-gallon yield is a workable local benchmark

Among the 1,166 wells reporting pump yield, the median is 7.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half from 3.6 to 10.0 gallons per minute. The largest group, 62%, reports between 5 and 15 gallons per minute. Another 27% reports between 1 and 5 gallons per minute, while 3% is under 1 gallon per minute and 8% exceeds 15 gallons per minute.

For a buyer, the 3% under 1 gallon per minute deserves attention because storage and household demand become more important. Ask for the well construction report, pump test information, and any production documentation. A permitted household well is not automatically a high-production source, and the 35 gpm exempt-well pumping limit is a legal ceiling, not a prediction of what the well will make.

Water levels around Genesee show a deeper long-term pattern

The 185 records reporting static water level have a median depth to water of 100 feet, with the middle half from 43 to 180 feet below the surface. That affects pump setting, electrical planning, and the cost of lifting water to the house.

The decade medians move from 26 feet below surface in the 1960s to 45 in the 1970s, 74 in the 1980s, and 150 in the 1990s. Later measurements show 120 feet in the 2010s and 140 feet in the 2020s. The series suggests water levels became generally deeper over the record, although it is not a continuous measurement from one monitoring well. Treat it as regional context, not proof that a specific parcel is losing water.

Permit history shows sustained drilling near Genesee

Permit activity was strongest in the 1990s, with 916 permits issued. The 1970s had 598, the 1980s 560, and the 2000s 523. Activity then declined to 274 permits in the 2010s and 143 in the 2020s. The newest permit year in the records is 2025.

Most recorded uses are domestic or household, accounting for 85% of permits. Monitoring accounts for 6%, stock for 3%, and irrigation for 1%. The most active drillers in these records are James Drilling Company, Aspen Drilling Company Inc, and Living Water Systems Inc. Their appearance in the records does not mean one is right for your lot; use the permit history to identify experience in nearby ground and request current bids.

What a Genesee well may cost to drill and finish

For fractured mountain bedrock described as granite or gneiss, the drilling model uses $65 to $100 per foot. At the local median depth of 320 feet, that puts the drilled hole at about $20,800 to $32,000.

A finished system adds the pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical work. The modeled total is about $26,800 to $44,000. These figures are planning ranges, not a fixed quote: difficult access, casing and grout requirements, deeper-than-expected drilling, water treatment, or a replacement pump can change the final scope. Have each bidder separate drilling, casing, grouting, pump equipment, trenching, electrical, and testing so you can compare the same work.

Genesee buyers need to check water, ground, and septic risks

Low yield and dry-hole risk are the main physical concerns in fractured mountain bedrock. A nearby productive well does not guarantee the same result, and a shallow water level does not guarantee a large supply. Review neighboring permits near the parcel, not just an average for Genesee, and ask whether any well has a documented low yield, poor construction, or failed test.

Environmental due diligence also matters. The mapped area has 93 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 199 historic mine features, and 56 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These mapped sites are a reason to test and investigate, not proof that a particular property is contaminated. Confirm septic setbacks, reserve area, driveway access, and a suitable building envelope before closing. An augmentation plan may be needed in an over-appropriated basin, depending on the proposed use and water rights.

Well permits by decade near Genesee

What a new well costs in Genesee, 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 (552 ft) would run roughly $41,880–$67,200. 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 Genesee? 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 Genesee 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 Genesee

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

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