What to Expect From a Well in Lake County

How deep are wells around Lake County?

How much water do wells make near Lake County?

Lake County Depths Depend on the Fractures

Among the 1,764 wells reporting depth, the median is 106 feet. The middle half spans 60–165 feet, so a bid based only on the median leaves meaningful room for a deeper hole. The 90th-percentile depth is 290 feet, and the deepest reported well reaches 1,892 feet. That extreme is not a sensible default for a household budget.

Most permits fall in the unnamed or fractured-bedrock category: 2,588 wells, compared with 75 labeled Alluvial and 6 labeled Quaternary Alluvium. In fractured granite and gneiss, usable water depends on the fractures the borehole intersects. A nearby successful well is useful evidence, but it does not guarantee the same depth on your parcel.

A Recorded 10 gpm Is Encouraging, Not a Guarantee

The 739 wells with reported pump yields have a 10.0 gpm median, with the middle half at 6.0–12.0 gpm. The largest share, 74%, reports 5–15 gpm. Those results are encouraging for household supply, but a recorded yield describes a test result, not a promise of continuous output under every condition.

At the lower end, 12% report 1–5 gpm and 1% report under 1 gpm. A low-producing well can require storage and careful demand management. Before buying, have the existing well's pumping performance and recovery evaluated. Also check authorized use: a well's physical capacity does not establish permission for livestock, irrigation or other outdoor demands.

Lake County Water Levels Do Not Show a Clear Decline

Static water level means the depth to standing water when the well is not being pumped. Only 223 wells report that measurement. Their median is 93 feet below ground, and the middle half is 52–172 feet. These are different records from the full depth dataset; subtracting the county medians will not tell you how much water an individual well stores.

The decade medians are 115 feet below surface in the 2010s and 90 feet in the 2020s. The later figure is shallower, so this series does not demonstrate a dropping water table. It also does not prove countywide recovery: different wells, locations and measurement conditions can change the median. Seek repeat measurements from the property itself.

Who Drilled Lake County's Recorded Wells

Permit activity was strongest in the supplied decade totals during the 1990s, with 516 permits, followed by 502 in the 2000s. Records show 276 in the 2010s and 234 in the 2020s, with the newest permit dated 2025. The later decade is incomplete, so it is not a clean comparison of long-term demand.

The most active recorded drillers are Golden Eagle Drilling Corporation (Shelton, Joe Wayne) with 685 wells, Twin Lakes Drilling Co. (Schaffer, James O) with 204, and Steve Shelton Drilling, Inc. (Shelton, Steve) with 122. These are historical record counts, not confirmation of current availability. Domestic/household use accounts for 81% of permits, while monitoring accounts for 10%; not every mapped well represents a residential supply.

Budgeting a New Well Near Leadville

The Lake County cost model assumes fractured mountain bedrock and a drilling rate of $65–$100 per foot. At the 106-foot median depth, the drilled hole is approximately $6,900–$10,600. A finished well with pump, tank, trenching and electrical is modeled at $12,900–$22,600. Treat that as a planning range, not a parcel-specific quote.

The 60–165-foot middle depth range explains why bids should state how added footage is charged. Ask what casing, grout, testing and completion work are included, and what happens if the initial hole produces poorly. Around Leadville and Leadville North, review rig access and the route to the proposed home before accepting a price. A short borehole does not automatically mean a simple finished installation.

Mine History and Water Quality Need a Parcel-Level Check

The environmental mapping identifies 4,731 historic mine features, 21 EPA Superfund/cleanup sites and 22 PFAS sampling/contamination sites within about 10 miles. Those counts are reasons to investigate location and groundwater context, not proof that a particular household well is contaminated. A PFAS sampling location does not, by itself, establish a contaminated result.

Have a qualified laboratory test the water and ask local health officials which additional analyses fit the property's mine and cleanup-site setting. Review casing, grout and wellhead condition as well. The 1% share reporting under 1 gpm describes low reported production, not the chance of a dry hole. For a buildable lot, confirm that the well, septic system and home can meet applicable siting requirements before finalizing the layout.

Before Closing on a Lake County Well Property

Start with the parcel's DWR permit, construction report and any pump-test or laboratory records. Confirm that the permitted uses match your plans; an exempt household-use well may not authorize the outdoor uses a buyer expects. An existing well on a map is not enough to establish a usable, legally suitable water supply.

Compare neighboring logs around Leadville or Leadville North before relying on a broader regional example. Summit County is 26 miles away and Chaffee County is 36 miles away, but distance alone does not make their wells good comparisons in mountain terrain. For vacant land, coordinate drilling access, septic feasibility and the home layout early. For an existing home, make water quality and demonstrated well performance part of purchase due diligence.

Well permits by decade near Lake County

What a new well costs in Lake County

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 (165 ft) would run roughly $16,725–$28,500. 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 Lake County? 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 Lake County 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 Lake County

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Towns and areas in Lake County

Neighboring counties