Goldfield, Colorado Well Depths, Yields and Costs

How deep are wells around Goldfield?

How much water do wells make near Goldfield?

Goldfield well depth: plan for hard, variable drilling

Goldfield wells have a median depth of 300 feet. The middle half runs from 140 to 440 feet, so a driller’s bid based only on the median can miss the actual ground conditions. About 22% of recorded wells are under 100 feet, 26% fall from 100 to 300 feet, 41% from 300 to 600 feet, and 11% exceed 600 feet. The deepest record reaches 3,140 feet.

Most permits identify unnamed fractured bedrock, with 597 wells in that category and 8 identified as Fractured Granite. Granite and gneiss commonly produce water through fractures rather than a uniform underground layer. For a buyer, nearby well depths are more useful than a countywide assumption. Ask for several permits on the same ridge, drainage or road before accepting a drilling allowance.

Expected well yield around Goldfield

The median reported pump yield is 7.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 2.0 and 9.1 gallons per minute. The yield mix is fairly broad: 8% of reported wells are under 1 gallon per minute, 31% produce from 1 to 5, 54% produce from 5 to 15, and 7% produce more than 15 gallons per minute.

For a household buyer, a 7.0-gallon-per-minute result is generally a workable planning figure, but it is not a promise for an individual lot. The 8% under 1 gallon per minute deserves attention because a low-producing well may require storage and careful demand management. Confirm the permitted use, pump test, storage tank size and actual recovery before relying on the well for a larger home or additional fixtures.

Water levels and the recent Goldfield trend

Among the 46 records reporting a static water level, the median depth to water is 100 feet, and the middle half runs from 58 to 172 feet below the surface. A static level is measured when the well is not being pumped. It is not the same as the pumping level, and it does not tell you by itself how quickly the well recovers.

The decade figures show a higher reported water level depth in the newer records: the median was 100 feet below ground in the 2010s and 135 feet in the 2020s. That change suggests water was measured deeper in the more recent sample, but the dataset is small and may reflect different locations, seasons or measurement conditions. Have the current owner provide recent pump and water-level information rather than assuming the older permit value still applies.

Who has drilled near Goldfield, and when

Permit activity is spread across several decades. The records show 22 permits from the 1970s, 54 from the 1980s, 153 from the 1990s, 199 from the 2000s, 84 from the 2010s and 68 from the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025. Domestic or household wells make up 63% of the use mix, while stock wells account for 8%, monitoring wells for 30% and irrigation wells for 0%.

The most active driller listed is Mountain Well Improvement LLC, associated with Wiley, David D., with 147 records. Authorized (PE, PG) appears on 125 records, and Black Mountain Drilling, associated with Schnoes, Adam J., appears on 50. These are permit-record associations, not a recommendation. Check the actual well construction report, casing, grout, pump test and final permit status before comparing contractors.

What a new well costs in Goldfield

Goldfield drilling is priced around fractured mountain bedrock, described in the local cost model as granite and gneiss. The typical drilling rate is $65 to $100 per foot. At the 300-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $19,500 to $30,000.

A finished well, including the pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical work, is modeled at about $25,500 to $42,000 at that depth. Treat that as a planning range, not a fixed bid. The 140-to-440-foot middle-half depth range shows why the final price can move substantially. Ask each driller what is included, how additional footage is charged, and whether casing, grout, permitting, pump installation, storage and electrical connections are separate line items.

Goldfield risks to check before buying or building

Low yield is the first practical risk. Eight percent of reported wells produce under 1 gallon per minute, and fractured-bedrock wells can also encounter dry holes or changing production between nearby lots. A buyer should review the well construction report, pump test, static and pumping levels, and any storage system. Confirm that the permit allows the intended household use; an exempt household-use well is not automatically suitable for every proposed use.

Water quality also deserves a site-specific review. Within about ten miles, the mapping shows 9 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 443 historic mine features and 4 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Those mapped features do not prove contamination at a particular well. Test the water before closing and consider a location-specific review of mines, septic setbacks, drainage and neighboring wells. Colorado DWR permit records help with construction history, but they are not a substitute for laboratory testing.

A practical plan for a Goldfield lot

Before buying, gather permits for neighboring wells in Goldfield, Victor, Cripple Creek and the surrounding roads, then compare depths, yields, water levels and uses. Give the driller the parcel location and ask for a written estimate that explains the assumed depth and the price if the hole must go deeper. On fractured granite or gneiss, no nearby result can guarantee the next fracture will carry water.

For a building site, confirm the well permit, legal access, septic feasibility, electrical route and trenching distance before finalizing plans. If the basin is over-appropriated, water administration and an augmentation plan may affect new uses. Colorado’s exempt-well pumping limit is 35 gallons per minute, but the permit’s actual conditions control. A water test, septic evaluation and current well inspection are inexpensive compared with discovering a problem after closing.

Well permits by decade near Goldfield

What a new well costs in Goldfield, 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 (440 ft) would run roughly $34,600–$56,000. 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 Goldfield? 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 Goldfield 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 Goldfield

Keep researching

More in Teller County

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

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