Colorado Well Finder › Wells by county › Larimer County
A well near Red Feather Lakes can be a very different job from one outside Fort Collins. Larimer County’s permit records cover mountain bedrock and alluvial settings, so the county median is a starting point—not a prediction for your lot.
Colorado DWR records list 20,592 permitted wells, with 12,847 recorded as constructed. Reported depths center on 190 ft and pump yields on 6.0 gpm. For a buyer, the important question is how nearby completed wells compare with the property being considered.
Figures are computed from Colorado Division of Water Resources permit records for all permitted wells in the county. Not every permit reports every field; each statistic uses the wells that report it.
| Depth statistic | Feet |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 40 |
| Median | 190 |
| 75th percentile | 400 |
| 90th percentile | 600 |
| Deepest on record | 2,340 |
| Aquifer named on permits | Wells |
|---|---|
| unnamed / fractured-bedrock aquifer | 18,611 |
| Alluvial | 393 |
| Quaternary Alluvium | 108 |
| Yield statistic | gpm |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 4.0 |
| Median | 6.0 |
| 75th percentile | 10.0 |
| Median depth to water | 50 ft |
| Median water level by decade | Depth to water |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 13 ft |
| 1960s | 21 ft |
| 1970s | 23 ft |
| 1980s | 25 ft |
| 1990s | 35 ft |
| 2000s | 49 ft |
| 2010s | 76 ft |
| 2020s | 80 ft |
The 13,679 wells reporting depth have a 190 ft median, but the middle half spans 40-400 ft. That is a wide estimating range: a bid based only on the median can miss the amount of drilling your parcel needs. The 90th-percentile depth is 600 ft, showing that deeper work is a meaningful part of the local record.
Permits place 18,611 wells in the unnamed / fractured-bedrock category. Alluvial and Quaternary Alluvium also appear. Around Estes Park, Glen Haven and Red Feather Lakes, productive fractures can be unpredictable. Ask a driller to compare wells in the same terrain and geologic setting, not simply the nearest addresses.
Reported pump yields in Larimer County have a 6.0 gpm median, with the middle half at 4.0-10.0 gpm. These figures come from 5,407 records, not every permitted well. A reported drilling-time yield is useful evidence, but it does not establish how a well will perform through sustained household use or changing conditions.
The buyer’s caution flag is the 7% reporting under 1 gpm. A low-producing well may require storage and careful demand management; installing a larger pump does not make the aquifer replenish faster. Before closing on a home near Livermore or Bellvue, obtain a current pumping and recovery evaluation rather than relying on the original yield entry.
Among 1,058 static-water-level reports, the median depth to water is 50 ft below ground, and the middle half is 15-100 ft. Static level describes resting water in the well. It is not total drilled depth, and it does not tell you how far the level falls while pumping.
Decade medians deepen from 13 ft in the 1950s to 35 ft in the 1990s, 49 ft in the 2000s, 76 ft in the 2010s and 80 ft in the 2020s. That pattern suggests deeper recorded water levels over time. It does not prove a uniform countywide decline because the records may represent different wells and locations. Check repeat measurements on the actual well where available.
Permit issuance reached 4,089 in the 1990s, followed by 3,010 in the 2000s and 2,163 in the 2010s. The 2020s contain 1,316 permits, with the newest permit year listed as 2025. Treat that latest decade as incomplete, and remember that a permit is not evidence that a well was finished.
Prominent names include Ingram Drilling Inc. (Ingram, Stephen E.), with 3,264 records, and Hersh & Son Well Drilling Inc (Hersh, Harry), with 1,631. The dataset also lists “Authorized (Pe, Pg)” on 1,703 records; that label is not a clearly identified drilling business. These are historical record counts, not confirmation of current availability. Domestic/household use accounts for 68% of permits.
The supplied Larimer County cost model assumes fractured mountain bedrock—granite or gneiss—at $65-$100 per foot. At the 190 ft median depth, the drilled hole alone is about $12,400-$19,000. A finished well with pump, tank, trenching and electrical is modeled at $18,400-$31,000.
Use that as a planning allowance, not a parcel-specific quote. With the middle half of reported depths spanning 40-400 ft, drilling footage can change the budget substantially. Ask the bid to identify casing and grout, pump sizing, testing, rig access and the route to the house. On a mountain lot, driveway access and difficult trenching deserve attention before you commit to a building location.
The supplied environmental mapping lists 90 PFAS sampling/contamination sites, 70 historic mine features and 40 EPA Superfund/cleanup sites within about 10 miles. Those are screening flags, not evidence that a particular well is contaminated. A sampling site may not represent a confirmed problem. Review the mapped locations and choose laboratory testing suited to the property’s surroundings.
Fractured bedrock also carries low-yield and dry-hole risk; neighboring success cannot guarantee a productive fracture on your lot. Inspect wellhead protection and review casing and grout records. Before building near Drake or Glen Haven, coordinate the well, septic system, house and access layout so required separations and construction access remain workable.
Start with the parcel’s DWR permit, construction report and pump records. Confirm that the permit belongs to the property and that its allowed uses match your plans. A household-use permit does not automatically authorize lawn irrigation, livestock watering or other outdoor uses. Expanded uses may require a different water-right arrangement, including augmentation where applicable.
Next, compare completed wells around the parcel using the Fort Collins, Laporte, Wellington or other relevant local page. Separate nearby valley records from mountain-bedrock examples. Make water-quality testing, pumping performance and a written site-specific estimate part of due diligence. For vacant land, resolve well access and septic feasibility before treating the lot as ready to build.
| Decade permitted | Wells |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 374 |
| 1960s | 639 |
| 1970s | 2,383 |
| 1980s | 2,385 |
| 1990s | 4,089 |
| 2000s | 3,010 |
| 2010s | 2,163 |
| 2020s | 1,316 |
| Most active drillers on record | Wells |
|---|---|
| Ingram Drilling Inc. (Ingram, Stephen E.) | 3,264 |
| Authorized (Pe, Pg) | 1,703 |
| Hersh & Son Well Drilling Inc (Hersh, Harry) | 1,631 |
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 (400 ft) would run roughly $32,000–$52,000. 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 Larimer CountyFor a Larimer County mountain lot, Tri-Lakes Contracting is a licensed Colorado contractor for access driveways, site development, new-build septic systems and custom homes. Coordinate those improvements with the well location and drilling access before settling the site layout.
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A listing photo can't tell you whether a lot is a dream or a money pit. Two parcels near Larimer 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.
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.
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The median reported depth is 190 ft, and the middle half runs from 40-400 ft across 13,679 depth records. The 90th-percentile depth is 600 ft. That broad spread makes county averages a rough starting point. For a mountain parcel, compare nearby completed wells in similar bedrock and terrain before setting a drilling budget.
The mountain-bedrock cost model uses $65-$100 per foot. At the county’s 190 ft median depth, drilling the hole is about $12,400-$19,000; a finished well with pump, tank, trenching and electrical is about $18,400-$31,000. Get a parcel-specific bid that addresses depth uncertainty, casing, rig access and the utility route to the house.
Reported yields have a 6.0 gpm median, with the middle half at 4.0-10.0 gpm. However, 7% report under 1 gpm. Household suitability depends on sustained production, recovery and demand, not just the original yield entry. Have an existing well evaluated before purchase, and discuss storage if production is limited.
Permit depth and yield cannot establish drinking-water safety. The supplied mapping lists 90 PFAS sampling/contamination sites, 70 historic mine features and 40 EPA Superfund/cleanup sites within about 10 miles, but proximity does not prove contamination. Obtain laboratory testing for the actual well and review nearby environmental records to decide whether additional targeted testing is warranted.
Recorded decade medians suggest deeper water levels over time: 13 ft below ground in the 1950s compared with 80 ft in the 2020s. However, these countywide groups may contain different wells and locations, so they do not establish a uniform decline. Repeat measurements and pumping evaluations on the property’s well are more useful for purchase decisions.
Driveway, septic, site development, feasibility or a custom build near Larimer County.
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