Colorado Well Finder › Wells by county › Las Animas County › Kim
Buying land near Kim means evaluating a permitted well, not just looking at the house or acreage. Records within 8 miles show 143 wells, with 103 recorded as constructed and 98 reporting total depth. The local pattern is mostly plains sedimentary rock and unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers, not Denver Basin water.
Depth and yield records provide a useful starting point, but they do not guarantee what a new hole will produce. Many permits are for stock use, so confirm the permitted use before assuming a well supports a residence, irrigation, or livestock. Check the actual permit, construction report, pump information, and neighboring wells before closing.
Figures are computed from Colorado Division of Water Resources permit records for permitted wells within 8 miles of Kim. Not every permit reports every field; each statistic uses the wells that report it.
| Depth statistic | Feet |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 131 |
| Median | 220 |
| 75th percentile | 290 |
| 90th percentile | 370 |
| Deepest on record | 650 |
| Aquifer named on permits | Wells |
|---|---|
| unnamed / fractured-bedrock aquifer | 127 |
| Dakota | 6 |
| Cheyenne | 3 |
| Yield statistic | gpm |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 6.0 |
| Median | 9.0 |
| 75th percentile | 12.0 |
| Median depth to water | 170 ft |
| Median water level by decade | Depth to water |
|---|---|
| Not enough dated measurements | — |
The median recorded well near Kim is 220 feet. The middle half runs from 131 to 290 feet, while the 90th percentile is 370 feet and the deepest record reaches 650 feet. Sixty percent of wells are between 100 and 300 feet, 16% are under 100 feet, 22% fall between 300 and 600 feet, and 1% are deeper than 600 feet.
For a drilling bid, the 220-foot median is a reasonable planning reference, not a promised target. A site near the deeper end of the local range can materially change drilling, casing, grout, pump, and electrical costs. The aquifer description matters too: 127 permits name unnamed or fractured bedrock, while 6 name Dakota and 3 name Cheyenne. Fractured-bedrock production can vary sharply between nearby lots.
The reported yield median is 9.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half from 6.0 to 12.0 gallons per minute. That looks workable for many household systems, but only 2 wells in the records report a pump yield. Treat the yield figures as a limited local indication rather than a dependable prediction for an unbuilt well.
The reported split is unusual: 50% of reported yields are in the 1-to-5-gallon-per-minute range and 50% are 15 gallons per minute or higher, with 0% under 1 gallon per minute and 0% between 5 and 15 gallons per minute. That pattern reflects a very small sample. Ask for the well test, pump setting, storage capacity, and permitted use. An exempt household-use well is generally subject to a 35-gallon-per-minute pumping limit, but its actual sustainable yield can be much lower.
Seven wells report a static water level. Their median depth to water is 170 feet, and the middle half falls from 145 to 200 feet. For a buyer, that helps a driller estimate pump depth and equipment, but it does not establish the water level at every parcel. Static readings can differ with local geology, season, pumping history, and the age of the measurement.
The permit history does not provide a decade-by-decade water-level series, so these records cannot show that the water table is rising or dropping over time. Do not infer a trend from the depth of the wells themselves. Request a current static measurement and ask neighboring owners how their wells behave during extended dry periods. The completion report and a properly conducted well test are more useful than a broad assumption about the Kim area.
Permits appear throughout the record, with 1 issued in the 1950s, 3 in the 1960s, 1 in the 1970s, 9 in the 1980s, 11 in the 1990s, 18 in the 2000s, 21 in the 2010s, and 6 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2024. That history confirms ongoing well use around Kim, but permit volume alone does not prove water availability for a particular lot.
The most frequently identified drillers are Hoffman, Earl, with 9 records; Sharpe Drilling Company, associated with Lyle Sharpe, with 6; and Mack'S Drilling Inc, associated with Wesley B. Mack, with 4. These names are useful when locating nearby construction records. Verify current licensing, insurance, scope, and references before hiring any driller. Colorado DWR permit records should be checked for the exact parcel and intended use.
For Kim's alluvium and plains sedimentary rock, the stated drilling rate is $35 to $55 per foot. At the 220-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $7,700 to $12,100. That is the hole only, not the complete water system.
A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at about $13,700 to $24,100 at the median depth. A 370-foot hole, or one that reaches the local record depth of 650 feet, should not be priced by simply assuming the median. Get a written bid that identifies casing, grout, drilling through difficult formations, pump size, testing, waterline trenching, electrical service, and any access or mobilization charges. Confirm whether the bid includes permitting and abandonment obligations if the hole is unsuccessful.
Low yield is not the only concern. A dry hole, poor construction, inadequate casing or grout, pump failure, and a waterline that freezes or loses pressure can all affect a rural property. The reported yield sample is only 2 wells, so do not rely on the 9.0-gallon-per-minute median without reviewing the actual test and recovery results.
Environmental records within about 10 miles include 2 PFAS sampling or contamination sites and 3 historic mine features. There are 0 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites in that mapped set, but a buyer should still obtain current water-quality testing suited to the property and its history. Inspect the wellhead, keep septic components safely separated from the well, and confirm the lot has room for a compliant septic system and replacement area. Building plans should account for access, drilling equipment, trenching, and electrical service.
Start with the parcel's DWR permit and construction report. Confirm the well's permitted use, depth, casing, pump information, water level, and any testing. Because 71% of the local use mix is stock and 25% is domestic or household, do not assume a stock well can legally serve a home. Irrigation accounts for 3% and monitoring for 6% of the listed use mix.
Next, compare nearby wells in Kim, Pritchett, Springfield, Campo, Vilas, and La Junta where records are relevant to the same formation. Have a licensed driller review access and likely depth before setting a budget. If the basin or water right requires it, determine whether an augmentation plan is needed. Before closing, make the contract contingent on acceptable water quality, a functioning well test, legal use, and a septic evaluation. That process is more reliable than judging the parcel by one nearby well.
| Decade permitted | Wells |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 1 |
| 1960s | 3 |
| 1970s | 1 |
| 1980s | 9 |
| 1990s | 11 |
| 2000s | 18 |
| 2010s | 21 |
| 2020s | 6 |
| Most active drillers on record | Wells |
|---|---|
| Hoffman (Hoffman, Earl) | 9 |
| Sharpe Drilling Company (Sharpe, Lyle) | 6 |
| Mack'S Drilling Inc (Mack, Wesley B.) | 4 |
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 (290 ft) would run roughly $16,150–$27,950. See the full Colorado well cost guide.
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.
The numbers above are the area average. Your lot is one point on the map. Search the address to see the real depth, yield and aquifer of each permitted well around it.
Map wells near KimTri-Lakes Contracting is a licensed Colorado contractor serving Kim and the surrounding plains for access driveways, site development, new-build septic systems, and custom homes. Their work can be coordinated with well access, utility trenching, and rural building plans.
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A listing photo can't tell you whether a lot is a dream or a money pit. Two parcels near Kim 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.
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.
Driveway, site work, septic or a build near Kim. Licensed GC, excavator and septic installer.
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The median recorded well depth near Kim is 220 feet. The middle half runs from 131 to 290 feet, while the 90th percentile is 370 feet and the deepest record is 650 feet. Sixty percent are between 100 and 300 feet. Local geology varies, especially where permits identify unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers, so nearby records are only a planning guide.
The local drilling rate is $35 to $55 per foot. At the 220-foot median depth, the drilled hole is estimated at $7,700 to $12,100. A finished system with pump, tank, trenching, and electrical is about $13,700 to $24,100. A deeper hole, difficult formation, access work, or added water-system requirements can change the bid.
Reported yields have a 9.0-gallon-per-minute median, with the middle half from 6.0 to 12.0 gallons per minute. However, only 2 local wells report a pump yield. The reported results split between 1 to 5 gallons per minute and 15 gallons per minute or higher, so the sample is too limited to predict a new well without testing.
The permit records do not establish that a particular well is safe to drink. Mapped records within about 10 miles include 2 PFAS sampling or contamination sites and 3 historic mine features, with 0 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Test the property’s water through an appropriate laboratory, inspect the well construction, and retest when conditions or ownership change.
Not automatically. Stock use accounts for 71% of the listed local permits, while domestic or household use accounts for 25%. A buyer must confirm the exact permit and legal use with Colorado DWR before relying on the well for a residence. If a new household-use well is proposed, review the applicable exempt-well rules, including the 35-gallon-per-minute pumping limit.
All wells in Las Animas County — county-wide depth, yield and cost figures.
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