Las Animas, Colorado Well Information

How deep are wells around Las Animas?

How much water do wells make near Las Animas?

Las Animas well depths reflect shallow plains geology

The median reported well depth near Las Animas is 60 feet. The middle half runs from 33 to 240 feet, so nearby wells can vary substantially even across the same general area. A deeper record reaches 545 feet, while 59% of wells are under 100 feet.

Another 20% fall between 100 and 300 feet, and 20% are between 300 and 600 feet. That spread matters when reviewing a drilling bid. A 60-foot estimate may fit one parcel but not another, particularly where the alluvial section is thin or the driller must continue into sedimentary rock. Check permits closest to the property before relying on the median.

What Las Animas wells produce

Only 87 permitted wells report a pump yield, so the yield statistics are more limited than the depth records. Among those reports, the median is 15.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half from 10.0 to 30.0 gallons per minute.

The reported results are generally favorable: 51% produce more than 15 gallons per minute, and 46% fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute. Another 3% report 1 to 5 gallons per minute, while 0% are under 1 gallon per minute in this dataset. A buyer should still confirm the permitted use, storage needs, and a new well's actual pump test rather than treating the median as a guarantee.

The Las Animas water table appears shallow

Just 12 wells report a static water level, so the water-level sample is small. Those records show a median depth to water of 14 feet, with the middle half from 8 to 40 feet. That supports the picture of shallow groundwater in at least part of the local plains setting.

The available facts do not provide a water-level series by decade, so they do not establish a reliable long-term rise or decline. Static water level is also not the same as the pumping level while a well is operating. Before buying, ask for the well permit, completion report, current pump performance and any recent water-level information for the specific property.

Permit history shows long local drilling activity

Colorado DWR records list 817 permitted wells within the mapped area around Las Animas. Of those, 596 are recorded as constructed and 607 report a total depth. Permits appear from the 1950s through the newest permit year, 2025.

Activity was highest in the 2000s, with 168 permits, followed by the 1990s with 129. The records identify Hoffman, Earl with 82 wells, Authorized, Pe, Pg with 63, and Crandall, H A with 31. Those names describe recorded permit history, not a recommendation or proof that a driller is currently available.

A Las Animas well budget starts with depth

For the alluvium and plains sedimentary rock around Las Animas, the drilling model uses $35-$55 per foot. At the local median depth of 60 feet, the drilled hole works out to about $2,100-$3,300. That is only the borehole portion, not the complete water system.

A finished well including the pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical is estimated at $8,100-$15,300 at that median depth. Deeper ground, casing, grout, difficult access, longer trenching and electrical work can change the bid. Get the driller to separate drilling, casing and grout, pump equipment, testing, trenching and power so competing estimates can be compared accurately.

Checks for water quality, yield and building plans

The mapped area within about 10 miles includes 3 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 4 historic mine features and 4 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Their presence does not prove a particular parcel is contaminated, but it is a reason to review environmental records and test the well water before closing.

Low yield and dry holes remain possible even where nearby wells perform well. Confirm the well location, permitted use and completion details with Colorado DWR. Septic setbacks, access for a drill rig, casing and grout requirements, and the route for water and power should be evaluated before finalizing a homesite. Domestic wells are generally limited to household uses under their permit, not unrestricted irrigation.

Buying or building near Las Animas

Start with the closest neighboring permits, not only the countywide numbers. Compare depths, aquifers, reported yields and construction dates for the lot and nearby areas such as Hasty, Cheraw, North La Junta, La Junta Gardens, La Junta and McClave. Local records identify unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers in 683 wells, Dakota in 54, and Cheyenne in 39; no Denver Basin aquifer wells are recorded.

Before purchasing, make the contract contingent on reviewing the permit and testing the existing system, if there is one. For a vacant lot, obtain a site-specific drilling opinion and a complete water-system estimate. Also confirm septic feasibility, driveway access, electrical service and the intended household or stock use before designing the home.

Well permits by decade near Las Animas

What a new well costs in Las Animas, 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 (240 ft) would run roughly $14,400–$25,200. 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 Las Animas? 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 Las Animas 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 Las Animas

Keep researching

More in Bent County

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

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