What Highlands Ranch Wells Really Look Like

How deep are wells around Highlands Ranch?

How much water do wells make near Highlands Ranch?

Highlands Ranch well depth depends on the target formation

Reported well depth has a broad spread in the Highlands Ranch area. The median is 205 feet, while the middle half falls between 40 and 526 feet. The 90th-percentile depth is 952 feet, and the deepest record reaches 2,668 feet.

The depth mix is unusual enough that a simple local average would not be a good bidding tool. Forty-five percent of wells are under 100 feet, while 24% fall from 300 to 600 feet and 21% are 600 feet or deeper. Only 10% are in the 100-to-300-foot range. The records identify unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers most often, followed by Denver and Arapahoe aquifers. A driller will need to evaluate the planned site and intended aquifer before giving a reliable depth allowance.

What a Highlands Ranch well may produce

Among the wells reporting pump yield, the median is 12.0 gallons per minute. The middle half produces 10.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute. Fifty-eight percent report yields from 5 to 15 gallons per minute, and 40% report more than 15 gallons per minute. No reported wells are under 1 gallon per minute, while 2% fall between 1 and 5 gallons per minute.

That is a strong permit-record picture, but only 625 wells report a pump yield. Yield testing, storage and the proposed household demand still matter. A domestic well must also follow its permit conditions. An exempt household-use well has a 35-gallon-per-minute pumping limit, even if the formation could produce more.

Water levels in Highlands Ranch need careful reading

The reported static water level has a median of 198 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 40 to 405 feet. This is not the same as well depth: a well can be drilled below the water level to provide usable storage and reach a productive zone.

The decade series is uneven rather than a clear straight-line decline. The median measured level was 209 feet below surface in the 1980s, 720 feet in the 2010s and 190 feet in the 2020s. Because only 72 records report a static water level, and measurement conditions can differ, the 2010s result should not be treated by itself as proof that the water table is dropping. Ask for the actual static and pumping levels from nearby wells and compare dates, construction and aquifer.

Permit history and active drillers near Highlands Ranch

Permit records show construction activity across several generations. Permits issued totaled 76 in the 1950s, 46 in the 1960s, 276 in the 1970s, 358 in the 1980s, 697 in the 1990s, 783 in the 2000s, 265 in the 2010s and 116 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025.

The records list 3,326 wells in total, with 1,495 recorded as constructed. Three drillers appear most often: Authorized (Pe, Pg), Hier Drilling Co Inc (Hier, Bruce A.) and Hier Drilling Co. (Hier, Peter J). Those names show permit-record activity, not a recommendation or proof that any one company is available for a new job. Confirm current licensing, insurance, scheduling and experience with the formation at your specific Highlands Ranch address.

What drilling a Highlands Ranch well may cost

The cost model uses Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock and a typical drilling rate of $50 to $70 per foot. At the local median depth of 205 feet, the drilled hole is estimated at about $10,200 to $14,400. That is only the hole, not a complete operating water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical is estimated at about $16,200 to $26,400 at the median depth. The broad local depth range means a bid based only on the median can miss badly if the site requires a deeper hole. Request a written estimate that separates drilling, casing and grout, pump equipment, testing, trenching, power and any difficult-access work. Verify what happens if the hole is dry or produces less than expected.

Risks to check before buying in Highlands Ranch

Low yield is not the main signal in these records, but the data are incomplete: only 625 wells report pump yield, and a permit record does not replace a current flow test. Dry holes, poor construction or an unsuitable target zone can still occur. Fractured-bedrock wells are especially difficult to predict because water may depend on individual fractures.

Water quality also deserves direct testing. Mapped environmental records within about ten miles include 205 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 25 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites and 18 historic mine features. These mapped sites do not establish contamination at a particular parcel. Test the well for contaminants relevant to the location and review casing, grout, wellhead protection and septic separation with qualified professionals. Confirm that the proposed home, septic system and well can fit on the lot without creating a maintenance problem.

A practical Highlands Ranch lot-buying plan

Start with the well permit, construction report, pump information and the latest water-quality results. Then compare several nearby records in Highlands Ranch, Acres Green, Littleton, Louviers, Columbine Valley, Sterling Ranch and Lone Tree. Pay attention to wells targeting the same aquifer, not just the closest pin on a map.

For a vacant lot, have a Colorado-licensed driller review access, pad location, likely depth, casing and grout, power routing and the septic layout before closing. For an existing home, arrange a pump and flow test, inspect the pressure system, measure static and pumping levels and confirm the permit allows the intended use. Water rights can also affect a project: over-appropriated basins may require an augmentation plan, and a DWR permit controls what the well may legally supply.

Well permits by decade near Highlands Ranch

What a new well costs in Highlands Ranch, 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 (526 ft) would run roughly $32,300–$48,820. 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 Highlands Ranch? 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 Highlands Ranch 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 Highlands Ranch

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

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