Johnstown, Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost

How deep are wells around Johnstown?

How much water do wells make near Johnstown?

How deep are wells around Johnstown?

Johnstown’s reported wells are shallow by Colorado standards. The median total depth is 29 feet, and the middle half runs from 18 to 40 feet. The 90th percentile is 60 feet, while the deepest recorded well reaches 1,000 feet.

That range should shape a drilling bid, but it should not be treated as a promised depth. 95% of wells in the depth mix are under 100 feet; 2% are between 100 and 300 feet, and 3% are between 300 and 600 feet. Permits name Denver Basin aquifer wells for 55% of the records, along with alluvial and unnamed or fractured-bedrock entries. The lot’s exact geology and intended use still control the final design.

Expected well yield near Johnstown

The reported yield numbers are strong overall, but the sample is limited to 84 wells. The median pump yield is 15.0 gallons per minute, and the middle half spans 15.0 to 400.0 gallons per minute. That wide upper range means the records include some unusually productive wells and should not be read as a standard output for every parcel.

79% of the reported wells produce more than 15 gallons per minute. Another 18% fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, and 4% fall between 1 and 5 gallons per minute. No reported well is under 1 gallon per minute. For a buyer, confirm the permitted use, storage, pump test, and any household demand before relying on a neighboring yield.

Johnstown water levels and recent measurements

Reported static water levels are close to the surface. The median depth to water is 10 feet, with the middle half between 6 and 14 feet. That is useful for estimating casing, trenching, and pump conditions, but a static level can change with season, pumping, recharge, and nearby construction.

The decade comparison does not show a dropping table in these records. The median measurement was 14 feet below the surface in the 2010s and 9 feet below the surface in the 2020s, meaning the later reported measurements were shallower. The comparison is based on only 165 wells with a static water-level report, so it is a local record trend rather than a guarantee for a particular site near Milliken, Berthoud, or Johnstown.

Who has drilled around Johnstown, and when?

Permit activity is not limited to recent development. The records show permits from the 1950s through the newest permit year, 2026. The largest decade is the 2020s, with 366 permits. The 1990s account for 184, the 2000s for 146, and the 2010s for 123. Earlier decades include 37 permits in the 1950s, 43 in the 1960s, 31 in the 1970s, and 39 in the 1980s.

The most active names in the records are Authorized (Pe, Pg) with 449 wells, followed by Kelley Dewatering And Construction Company (Creech, Jason) and Clement, Glenn A., with 57 each. These are permit-record names, not a recommendation. Verify current licensing, insurance, references, and the exact scope of a bid.

What a new Johnstown well may cost

The cost model for Johnstown assumes Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock and a typical drilling rate of $50-$70 per foot. At the local median depth of 29 feet, the drilled hole models to about $1,400-$2,000. That is only the hole, not a functioning water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at approximately $7,400-$14,000 at the median depth. Actual bids can change with access, casing and grout requirements, site distance, electrical service, water treatment, and the well’s permitted use. Ask the driller to separate drilling, casing, pump equipment, trenching, electrical, testing, and restoration so competing bids cover the same work.

Johnstown risks: water quality, low yield, and septic

Shallow water is convenient but deserves careful protection. The mapped area within about 10 miles contains 1,599 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 5 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites, and 2 historic mine features. These mapped sites do not prove contamination at a specific parcel. They do justify checking the property’s location, testing existing water, and asking the county or Colorado DWR about any relevant records.

Low yield and dry holes remain possible even where nearby wells perform well. A shallow well also needs proper casing and grout, separation from septic components, and a design suited to flooding, drainage, and the building footprint. Confirm septic setbacks and soil suitability before choosing a house site. Water quality testing should match the local risk review and the intended household use.

Buying or building near Johnstown: a practical check

Start with the Colorado DWR permit file for the exact parcel, then compare nearby wells in Johnstown, Milliken, Berthoud, and the surrounding Weld County area. Look for construction depth, aquifer description, permitted use, yield, static level, and whether the record shows a completed well. The local database is helpful, but reporting is incomplete: only 84 wells report yield and 165 report static water level.

Before closing, make the well permit, water-use rights, pump test, laboratory water test, and septic approval part of the due diligence list. For a new build, obtain a site-specific drilling and pump quote before finalizing the house location. If the property is in an over-appropriated basin, ask whether an augmentation plan or other water-right requirement applies. The permit’s authorized use matters as much as the well’s depth.

Well permits by decade near Johnstown

What a new well costs in Johnstown, 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 (40 ft) would run roughly $8,000–$14,800. 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 Johnstown? 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 Johnstown 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 Johnstown

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

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