What Wells Are Like Around Howard, Colorado

How deep are wells around Howard?

How much water do wells make near Howard?

Howard Well Depths Depend on Fractured Mountain Bedrock

The 1,251 permitted wells in the Howard area have a median reported depth of 105 feet. The middle half runs from 63 to 215 feet, so a driller's bid based on the median alone can be misleading. About 43% are under 100 feet, while 42% fall between 100 and 300 feet.

Deeper holes are part of the local picture: 13% are between 300 and 600 feet, 2% are deeper than 600 feet, and the deepest record is 1,100 feet. Granite and gneiss can carry water in fractures rather than in a uniform layer. A nearby well is useful evidence, but it does not eliminate the risk of drilling farther or finding a different fracture pattern.

Expected Well Yield Near Howard

Among the 495 records reporting pump yield, the median is 8.0 gallons per minute. The middle half is 5.0 to 12.8 gallons per minute. That is a workable range for many household systems, but the reported number is a well test result, not a promise that the same flow will continue indefinitely.

Yield distribution is generally favorable in these records: 62% report 5 to 15 gallons per minute, 19% report more than 15 gallons per minute, and 19% report 1 to 5 gallons per minute. No reported wells are under 1 gallon per minute. Ask for the original pump test, recovery information, pump setting, storage capacity, and any seasonal limitations before treating a yield figure as dependable household supply.

Howard Water Levels and the Recorded Trend

Only 70 wells report a static water level, so the water-level sample is much smaller than the depth or permit sample. In those records, the median depth to water is 55 feet, with the middle half from 42 to 125 feet below the surface. That helps with pump planning, but the water level on a specific parcel can vary sharply in fractured rock.

The decade figures do not show a simple decline in this dataset. The median measured level was 76 feet below surface in the 2010s and 54 feet in the 2020s, meaning the later sample was shallower. Because the number of measurements is limited and the wells may differ, do not use this comparison alone to predict long-term water availability.

Who Has Drilled Around Howard, and When

Howard has a long permit history. Records begin with 1 permit in the 1950s, rise to 171 in the 1970s and 182 in the 1980s, then reach 303 in the 1990s. There are 181 permits from the 2000s, 119 from the 2010s, and 66 from the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025.

The most common names in the records are American Drilling Service with Dewberry, Bradford W., at 378 wells; American Drilling Service Inc. with Dewberry, Noble, at 195; and Ma-Bel Drilling with Lively, Mabel, at 54. These records show who worked locally, not who is available today. Confirm licensing, insurance, references, and current pricing before choosing a driller.

What a New Howard Well May Cost

Local ground conditions are fractured mountain bedrock, described in the cost model as granite and gneiss. The drilling rate is estimated at $65 to $100 per foot. At the 105-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $6,800 to $10,500.

A finished system is more than the borehole. The estimate for a completed well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is $12,800 to $22,500 at that median depth. A deeper hole, difficult access, additional casing or grout, long utility runs, and changes in site layout can move the actual bid higher. Get the drilling price, casing, pump, testing, and allowances separated in writing.

Howard Risks to Check Before You Build

Low yield is not the only concern. Fractured-bedrock wells can produce water at one location and miss a useful fracture nearby, creating the possibility of a dry hole or a need to deepen the well. Review neighboring permits and construction reports near Coaldale, Cotopaxi, and other nearby areas, while recognizing that geology can change across a short distance.

The mapped environmental record includes 213 historic mine features within about 10 miles, with no PFAS sampling or contamination sites and no EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. A mine feature is a reason to investigate location and water quality, not proof that a well is contaminated. Test the water after construction and again when appropriate. Confirm septic setbacks, well access, building envelopes, and the permit's allowed use before finalizing plans.

Buying or Building on a Howard Lot

Before closing, obtain the DWR permit, construction report, pump test, water-quality results, and maintenance history for the existing well. Of the 1,251 permits in the area, 834 are recorded as constructed, 905 report total depth, and 495 report pump yield. Missing records do not automatically mean a problem, but they make field verification more important.

For a vacant lot, have a driller review access, rig setup, expected depth, casing and grout requirements, and the likely pump and electrical layout. Most local permits are domestic or household use, at 93% of the use mix. Confirm the permitted use and any augmentation requirements with Colorado DWR before adding irrigation, livestock, or other demands. Nearby Coaldale, Cotopaxi, and Salida can provide context, but the parcel's own records should control your decision.

Well permits by decade near Howard

What a new well costs in Howard, 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 (215 ft) would run roughly $19,975–$33,500. 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 Howard? 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 Howard 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 Howard

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

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