Colorado Well Finder › Wells by county › Boulder County › Gold Hill
Gold Hill sits in fractured mountain bedrock, where well results can change sharply from one lot to the next. Permit records within 5 miles show a median well depth of 300 feet and a median reported yield of 7.0 gallons per minute.
Those figures are useful for planning, but they are not a guarantee for a particular homesite. Most permitted wells serve domestic or household use, and the records include many older wells. Before buying land, compare nearby permits, confirm the intended use with Colorado DWR, and budget for access, power, storage, septic, and possible changes in drilling depth.
Figures are computed from Colorado Division of Water Resources permit records for permitted wells within 5 miles of Gold Hill. Not every permit reports every field; each statistic uses the wells that report it.
| Depth statistic | Feet |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 177 |
| Median | 300 |
| 75th percentile | 440 |
| 90th percentile | 600 |
| Deepest on record | 1,428 |
| Aquifer named on permits | Wells |
|---|---|
| unnamed / fractured-bedrock aquifer | 2,948 |
| Fractured Crystalline | 11 |
| Fractured Granite | 9 |
| Yield statistic | gpm |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 5.0 |
| Median | 7.0 |
| 75th percentile | 8.0 |
| Median depth to water | 76 ft |
| Median water level by decade | Depth to water |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 41 ft |
| 1970s | 35 ft |
| 1980s | 50 ft |
| 2010s | 78 ft |
| 2020s | 100 ft |
Gold Hill wells are commonly drilled into unnamed fractured-bedrock formations. The median reported depth is 300 feet, while the middle half runs from 177 to 440 feet. That spread matters when you request a drilling estimate: a bid based only on the median may not cover a hole that must follow a poor or unproductive fracture zone.
39% of wells are between 300 and 600 feet, and 12% are deeper than 600 feet. The deepest recorded well is 1,428 feet. Only 11% are under 100 feet. Nearby Sunshine, Crisman, Sugarloaf, Mountain Meadows, Bark Ranch, and Hidden Lake can provide useful comparison permits, but the closest well is still not a substitute for a site-specific bid.
Among wells reporting a pump yield, the median is 7.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 5.0 and 8.0 gallons per minute. That is a reasonable planning range for ordinary household use, especially when paired with a pressure tank and, where needed, storage. Yield is not the same as available water at every moment; the well’s recovery rate and storage system also matter.
The records show 70% of reported yields between 5 and 15 gallons per minute. 19% fall between 1 and 5 gallons per minute, while 3% are under 1 gallon per minute. A buyer should treat a low-yield result as a design issue, not automatically a failure. Ask for the well test, pump setting, recovery information, and permitted use before relying on the number.
The median static water level is 76 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 40 to 100 feet. These readings describe the water level when the well was measured, not the drilling depth. A well can be hundreds of feet deep while the standing water is much closer to the surface.
The decade pattern deserves attention. Median depth to water was 41 feet in the 1960s, 35 feet in the 1970s, 50 feet in the 1980s, 78 feet in the 2010s, and 100 feet in the 2020s. The later measurements are deeper, but the dataset includes only 93 reported static water levels, so use the trend as a warning to investigate rather than proof of a uniform decline everywhere.
Colorado DWR records list 3,039 permitted wells within the local search area. Of those, 2,044 are recorded as constructed, 2,055 report total depth, and only 913 report a pump yield. That uneven reporting is why neighboring permits should be read individually instead of treating the database as a complete performance history.
Permit activity was highest in the 1970s, with 729 permits, followed by 511 in the 1990s and 509 in the 1980s. The newest permit year is 2025. The most represented drillers are Ground Water Systems Inc. with 785 records, Ingram Drilling Inc. with 259, and Walton with 161. Confirm current licensing, availability, and pricing directly before selecting a driller.
The local cost model assumes fractured granite or gneiss and a drilling rate of $65 to $100 per foot. At the median depth of 300 feet, the drilled hole alone models at about $19,500 to $30,000. That is not the full project price.
A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at about $25,500 to $42,000 at that depth. A deeper hole, difficult mountain access, casing and grout requirements, or additional site work can push the total higher. Get a written bid that states the assumed depth, drilling method, casing, grout, pump equipment, mobilization, trenching, electrical scope, and what happens if the first hole has inadequate production.
Environmental screening is important around Gold Hill. Within about 10 miles, mapped records include 36 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 810 historic mine features, and 62 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These mapped features do not by themselves prove contamination at a parcel, but they justify a qualified water-quality review and laboratory testing before closing.
Fractured rock also creates uncertainty about dry holes, limited recovery, and changing water quality along fractures. Most permits are for domestic or household use, at 94%; stock accounts for 2%, monitoring for 2%, and irrigation is recorded at 0%. Confirm the permit allows the use you need. Check septic setbacks, replacement-area requirements, steep access, driveway drainage, building pads, and electrical routes before committing to a homesite.
Start with the parcel’s own permit, then compare nearby wells in Sunshine, Crisman, Sugarloaf, Mountain Meadows, Bark Ranch, and Hidden Lake. Look for actual construction depth, reported yield, static water level, aquifer description, and permitted use. Missing information is common, so ask the seller for well construction records, pump tests, maintenance history, and recent water-quality results.
For a new build, have a Colorado well contractor and septic designer review access and the proposed building envelope before you finalize plans. Confirm DWR requirements, household-use limits, and any augmentation or water-rights issue that applies to the basin and proposed use. Price the well together with storage, treatment, power, trenching, septic, and road work. The right lot is not simply the one with the shallowest neighboring well; it is the one whose water, access, septic, and building plan work together.
| Decade permitted | Wells |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 11 |
| 1960s | 117 |
| 1970s | 729 |
| 1980s | 509 |
| 1990s | 511 |
| 2000s | 276 |
| 2010s | 155 |
| 2020s | 70 |
| Most active drillers on record | Wells |
|---|---|
| Ground Water Systems Inc (Wilson, Richard R.) | 785 |
| Ingram Drilling Inc. (Ingram, Stephen E.) | 259 |
| Walton, | 161 |
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 (440 ft) would run roughly $34,600–$56,000. See the full Colorado well cost guide.
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.
The numbers above are the area average. Your lot is one point on the map. Search the address to see the real depth, yield and aquifer of each permitted well around it.
Map wells near Gold HillTri-Lakes Contracting is a licensed Colorado contractor serving Gold Hill and nearby mountain communities with access driveways, site development, new-build septic systems, and custom homes. Bring the well, septic, access, and building layout together before construction starts.
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A listing photo can't tell you whether a lot is a dream or a money pit. Two parcels near Gold Hill 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.
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.
Driveway, site work, septic or a build near Gold Hill. Licensed GC, excavator and septic installer.
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The median reported well depth within 5 miles of Gold Hill is 300 feet. The middle half runs from 177 to 440 feet. About 39% are between 300 and 600 feet, while 12% exceed 600 feet. The deepest recorded well is 1,428 feet, so fractured mountain rock can produce a much deeper drilling project.
The local drilling model uses $65 to $100 per foot in fractured granite or gneiss. At the 300-foot median depth, the drilled hole models at $19,500 to $30,000. A finished well with pump, tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at $25,500 to $42,000. Access and greater depth can change the final bid.
Reported pump yields have a median of 7.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half from 5.0 to 8.0 gallons per minute. About 70% produce between 5 and 15 gallons per minute. Still, 19% are between 1 and 5 gallons per minute and 3% are under 1 gallon per minute, so request a well test.
Safety cannot be determined from depth or yield alone. Within about 10 miles are 36 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 810 historic mine features, and 62 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These records call for parcel-specific laboratory testing and a review of mine and environmental history before using a well for drinking.
Reported median static water levels were 41 feet below the surface in the 1960s, 35 feet in the 1970s, 50 feet in the 1980s, 78 feet in the 2010s, and 100 feet in the 2020s. That later pattern suggests deeper measured water levels, but only 93 records report static levels, so it is not proof of uniform decline.
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