La Jara, Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost

How deep are wells around La Jara?

How much water do wells make near La Jara?

What La Jara well depths look like

La Jara wells have a median reported depth of 120 feet. The middle half runs from 90 to 200 feet, meaning many drilling bids should be based on a relatively shallow well, while still allowing for variation from lot to lot. About 27% of reported wells are under 100 feet, and 58% fall between 100 and 300 feet.

Depths become less typical above that range. About 10% are between 300 and 600 feet, and 5% are deeper than 600 feet. The deepest well on record reaches 4,000 feet. Local permits name unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers on 749 wells and the Confined San Luis Valley aquifer systems on 497 wells combined. Mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground can make the actual drilling conditions change over a short distance.

How much water a La Jara well may produce

The reported median yield near La Jara is 15.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 12.0 and 15.0 gallons per minute. The distribution is weighted toward stronger results: 58% of reported wells produce more than 15 gallons per minute, while 40% produce between 5 and 15 gallons per minute.

Low-yield wells are uncommon in the available records, but they are not impossible. About 1% report less than 1 gallon per minute, and another 1% report between 1 and 5 gallons per minute. Only 151 wells report a pump yield, so treat the percentages as a useful local signal rather than a guarantee. Ask for the well test, permitted use, storage setup, and any production problems before assuming a property can support a home, livestock, or irrigation.

La Jara water levels and recent measurements

Reported static water levels are shallow in this area. The median depth to water is 8 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 1 to 12 feet. That matters during construction because shallow groundwater can affect excavation, trenching, basement planning, and wellhead protection.

The available decade comparison does not show a dropping trend. The median static water level was 10 feet below the surface in the 2010s and 8 feet in the 2020s. Only 85 wells report a static water level, so this is a limited record rather than a complete groundwater study. A buyer should compare the subject well with nearby permits in La Jara, Sanford, Manassa, Romeo, and Capulin, then confirm current conditions with a well professional.

Who has drilled around La Jara, and how old are the permits

Permit history shows sustained well construction around La Jara rather than a single short period of activity. The records include 73 permits from the 1950s, 26 from the 1960s, 251 from the 1970s, 49 from the 1980s, 108 from the 1990s, 245 from the 2000s, 204 from the 2010s, and 95 from the 2020s. The newest permit year in the records is 2025.

The most active drillers listed are Rocky Mountain Waterworks LLC, associated with Phythian, Donald L., with 123 records; Heersink Drilling, associated with Heersink, Scott, with 52; and Martin, Gale, with 47. A permit history does not prove present performance. Confirm construction details, casing, grout, pump condition, and testing for the specific well being purchased.

What drilling a La Jara well may cost

For the mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground identified around La Jara, the typical drilling rate is $50 to $75 per foot. At the local median depth of 120 feet, the drilled hole works out to about $6,000 to $9,000. That is the drilling portion, not the complete water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at about $12,000 to $21,000. Use the 90th-percentile depth of 424 feet as a reminder that an ordinary bid can change substantially if the site requires a deeper hole. Get a written proposal that separates drilling, casing and grout, pump equipment, testing, trenching, electrical work, and any work needed to connect the system to the house.

Risks to check before building near La Jara

The local well numbers are encouraging, but the records do not remove site-specific risk. A buyer should investigate low yield, an abandoned or dry hole, pump failure, poor construction, and water-quality problems. The aquifer names vary across permits, including fractured-bedrock and Confined San Luis Valley systems, so nearby wells may not behave identically even when they are close together.

Mapped environmental information is relatively clear: there are no PFAS sampling or contamination sites, historic mine features, or EPA Superfund or cleanup sites within about ten miles. That does not replace a laboratory water test. Check for bacteria, nitrate, metals, and other concerns appropriate to the property. Review septic setbacks, wellhead protection, drainage, access for a drilling rig, and the space needed for casing, grout, pump equipment, and electrical service.

Buying or building a lot in the La Jara area

Start with the Colorado DWR permit and construction record for the exact parcel. Then inspect neighboring wells in La Jara and nearby Sanford, Manassa, Romeo, and Capulin for depth, reported yield, static water level, aquifer description, use, and age. A well producing 15.0 gallons per minute is a strong local result, but the 1% of reported wells under 1 gallon per minute shows why a buyer should not skip verification.

For a new build, confirm the legal water supply before closing and identify the permitted use. Domestic or household use appears on 68% of local records, stock use on 38%, and irrigation on 9%. Exempt household-use wells are generally subject to Colorado limits, including the 35 gallon-per-minute pumping limit. Over-appropriated basins may require an augmentation plan. Have the well, septic layout, driveway, and building envelope reviewed together before committing to construction.

Well permits by decade near La Jara

What a new well costs in La Jara, 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 (200 ft) would run roughly $16,000–$27,000. 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 La Jara? 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 La Jara 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 La Jara

Keep researching

More in Conejos County

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

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