Hotchkiss, Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost

How deep are wells around Hotchkiss?

How much water do wells make near Hotchkiss?

Hotchkiss well depth: shallow is common, but not guaranteed

Hotchkiss wells have a median reported depth of 90 feet. The middle half runs from 40 to 139 feet, which is the most useful range for an initial drilling discussion. Fifty-six percent of the recorded wells are under 100 feet, and 40% fall between 100 and 300 feet. Only 2% are between 300 and 600 feet, while 1% are deeper than 600 feet.

The deepest recorded well reaches 1,386 feet, so shallow ground should not be treated as a promise. Mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground can change across a short distance. Fractured-bedrock wells can also be unpredictable because water may depend on individual fractures rather than a consistent layer. A driller's bid should clearly state the assumed depth, casing, grout, and what happens if the hole must go deeper.

What a Hotchkiss well may produce

The reported yield picture is favorable, though only 126 wells include a pump-yield record. The median is 15.0 gallons per minute, and the middle half is 12.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute. Sixty-six percent of reported wells produce more than 15 gallons per minute. Another 26% fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute.

Low-yield wells still occur. Seven percent report 1 to 5 gallons per minute, and 1% report under 1 gallon per minute. For a household buyer, that makes the actual well test, recovery behavior, storage, and permitted use more important than the area median alone. A domestic permit is not the same as a guarantee of irrigation supply, and an existing stock or irrigation well may not compare directly with a household well.

Water levels around Hotchkiss and the apparent trend

Among the 47 wells reporting a static water level, the median depth to water is 12 feet below the surface. The middle half ranges from 3 to 40 feet. That shallow median can reduce pumping lift, but water levels vary with location, season, well construction, and measurement conditions.

The decade figures deserve attention. The median static water level was 3 feet below surface in the 2010s and 32 feet in the 2020s. That is a deeper reported water level in the newer decade, but the records do not establish the cause or prove a uniform regional decline. The sample is limited, and the wells measured in each decade may differ. Before buying, ask for the original well construction report and recent pumping or static-level information.

Who has drilled near Hotchkiss, and when

Permit activity stretches across several generations. Records show 2 permits from the 1950s, 3 from the 1960s, 47 from the 1970s, 26 from the 1980s, 133 from the 1990s, 187 from the 2000s, 79 from the 2010s, and 47 from the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025. That history gives a buyer a useful way to compare older wells with newer construction.

Wildcat Drilling & Pump, Inc. (Kissner, Billy D.) appears on 109 records. Bill Kissner Drilling Inc (Kissner, Bill F.) appears on 86, and Authorized (Pe, Pg) appears on 40. These records identify past permit activity, not a recommendation or proof of current availability. Check the DWR permit and construction records for the specific parcel, then confirm licensing, scope, and pricing directly before hiring.

Estimated cost to drill a well in Hotchkiss

For the mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground reported around Hotchkiss, the drilling model uses a typical rate of $50 to $75 per foot. At the 90-foot median depth, the drilled hole is estimated at about $4,500 to $6,800. That is not the complete water-system price.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at $10,500 to $18,800 at the median depth. A deep hole, difficult access, extra casing, or an unsuccessful drilling attempt can change the final bill. Ask for a written bid separating drilling, casing and grout, pump equipment, trenching, electrical, testing, and permit-related work. Compare the bid with nearby construction reports rather than relying only on the countywide or five-mile median.

Hotchkiss risks to check before you build

Well quantity is only one part of due diligence. Mapped environmental records within about ten miles include 16 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 19 historic mine features, and 11 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Those locations do not prove contamination at a particular parcel, but they are reasons to check the well location, groundwater direction, past land use, and available laboratory results.

Low yield and dry holes remain possible even in a productive area. Confirm the permit status, construction report, casing and grout, pump test, water quality, and static level. Septic placement also matters: keep the well and septic system separated according to the applicable county and state requirements, and verify that the lot has suitable soil, setbacks, access, and room for a replacement system before finalizing a building plan.

Buying or building on a Hotchkiss lot

Start with the parcel's own DWR permit history, then inspect neighboring wells in Hotchkiss, Lazear, Paonia, Crawford, Cedaredge, Orchard City, and Somerset only as local context. Nearby records can show likely depth and construction conditions, but they cannot establish the yield or water quality of an unbuilt well.

For an existing home, make the sale contingent on reviewing the well permit, construction report, pump performance, water test, storage equipment, and any known water-level history. For vacant land, price the project using the local drilling range and keep a contingency for deeper drilling or a dry hole. Also confirm household-use rights, septic feasibility, driveway access, electric service, and any augmentation-plan issue before committing to a home design or irrigation expectation.

Well permits by decade near Hotchkiss

What a new well costs in Hotchkiss, 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 (139 ft) would run roughly $12,950–$22,425. 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 Hotchkiss? 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 Hotchkiss 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 Hotchkiss

Keep researching

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

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