Golden, Colorado Well Depth, Yield and Drilling Costs

How deep are wells around Golden?

How much water do wells make near Golden?

Golden well depths change sharply by ground

Golden’s reported well depth is shallow by regional standards at the median: 70 feet. The middle half of reported wells falls between 29 and 300 feet, but the 90th percentile reaches 565 feet and the deepest record is 1,997 feet. That spread matters when you price a new well. A nearby shallow completion does not guarantee the same result on a lot across a drainage or against the foothills.

About 55% of reported wells are under 100 feet. Another 19% fall between 100 and 300 feet, 16% between 300 and 600 feet, and 9% exceed 600 feet. Permits identify unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers most often, with Denver and alluvial aquifers also recorded. Fractured rock can make depth and water production difficult to predict from surface location alone.

Most Golden wells report a workable yield

Among the wells that report a pump yield, the median is 7.2 gallons per minute. The middle half produces 5.0 to 11.0 gallons per minute, which is a useful range for ordinary household planning when the well, storage system and septic design are all appropriate.

Yield is not the same as a continuous guarantee. About 64% of reported wells fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, while 21% are between 1 and 5 gallons per minute. About 3% report under 1 gallon per minute, and 12% report more than 15 gallons per minute. Only 503 wells report a pump yield, so ask for the original well test rather than relying only on the neighborhood median.

Water levels vary across Golden’s mountain ground

The median reported static water level is 60 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 16 to 120 feet. That range affects pump setting, trenching and the amount of lift a system must handle. It also shows why a water level from one property should not be treated as a measurement for the next lot.

The decade series does not show a simple, steady decline. Median depth to water was 26 feet in the 1960s, 92 feet in the 1980s, 21 feet in the 2010s and 120 feet in the 2020s. The records are uneven by location and measurement, with only 125 wells reporting a static water level, so this is a warning to verify current conditions rather than proof of one uniform groundwater trend.

Permit history shows long use and continuing activity

Golden has a long well history in the DWR records. Permits were issued in every decade from the 1950s through the 2020s, with the busiest period in the 1990s at 786 permits. The records include 667 permits from the 2000s, 409 from the 2010s and 196 from the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025.

The database contains 4,246 wells within the study area. Of those, 2,475 are recorded as constructed. The most active driller names in the records are Authorized (Pe, Pg), James Drilling Company, and Aspen Drilling Company Inc. These names help when tracing local permit history, but a current bid still needs to account for access, casing, grout, formation and the exact proposed site.

A median-depth Golden well starts near the middle cost range

The cost model for Golden’s Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock uses a typical drilling rate of $50 to $70 per foot. At the 70-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $3,500 to $4,900. That is only the drilling portion, not a complete operating water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical is modeled at about $9,500 to $16,900 at the median depth. A deeper hole, difficult access route or additional casing and grouting can move the proposal beyond that range. Get the bid in writing and ask what happens if the driller reaches the planned depth without an adequate supply. Compare the water system cost with the septic and site-development work before setting a total construction budget.

Golden buyers need to check quality, yield and septic fit

Water quantity is only one part of the decision. Within about 10 miles, the mapped environmental inventory includes 170 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 200 historic mine features and 25 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Those mapped sites do not establish contamination at a particular well, but they are good reasons to review nearby land uses, test the existing well and ask what treatment may be needed.

Low-yield wells, dry holes and changing fractured-rock conditions remain practical risks. Confirm the permit’s approved use before assuming a well supports a home, irrigation or livestock. Septic setbacks, replacement-area requirements, access for drilling equipment, slope and electrical service also need review. A well that produces water may still require storage or a different building layout.

Use nearby records to plan your Golden lot

Start with the exact parcel, then compare completed wells in the nearest part of Golden rather than averaging the entire five-mile area. Look at reported depth, test yield, static water level, permit use and aquifer description. Records from West Pleasant View, Applewood, East Pleasant View, Fairmount, Genesee and Idledale can provide context, but they do not replace a site investigation.

For an existing home, obtain the permit, well construction report, pump information, recent water test and any production test. For vacant land, have a licensed driller review access and the likely target formation before you buy or finalize plans. Also confirm DWR permit requirements and water-use limits. In an over-appropriated basin, an augmentation plan may be needed for some uses. Build the well, septic and driveway decisions together.

Well permits by decade near Golden

What a new well costs in Golden, 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 (300 ft) would run roughly $21,000–$33,000. 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 Golden? 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 Golden 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 Golden

Keep researching

More in Jefferson County

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

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