What Lewis, Colorado Well Records Show

How deep are wells around Lewis?

How much water do wells make near Lewis?

Lewis well depths vary well beyond the median

The 125-foot median is a reasonable starting point for a preliminary drilling conversation around Lewis, but it is not a promise of finished depth. Half of the wells with reported depths fall between 70 and 220 feet. Another 14% are between 300 and 600 feet, and 8% exceed 600 feet. The deepest recorded well is 885 feet.

Depth records also show that 37% are under 100 feet and 41% fall between 100 and 300 feet. For a driller's bid, that means a median-depth estimate may be useful for budgeting, while the high-end records justify asking about a deeper-hole rate, casing, grout, and what happens if the first target does not produce.

What a Lewis well may produce

The reported yield picture is stronger than the depth range, but the sample is small: only 12 permits report a pump yield. The median reported yield is 4.5 gallons per minute, with the middle half from 3.8 to 8.1 gallons per minute. Half of the reported wells fall in the 1-to-5-gallon-per-minute range, while 42% report 5 to 15 gallons per minute.

No reported well is under 1 gallon per minute, and 8% are above 15 gallons per minute. For a buyer, a 4.5-gallon-per-minute result can support ordinary household planning with appropriate storage, but it does not establish irrigation capacity. Confirm the permitted use and obtain a pump test before relying on a particular parcel.

Lewis water levels cannot yet show a trend

No well in the available Lewis records reports a static water level. That leaves no water-level-by-decade series to show whether the local water table is stable, rising, or dropping. A driller may encounter water while drilling, but that observation is not the same as a measured static level after the well has recovered.

Most permits identify an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer: 105 wells use that description. Two name the Dakota aquifer and one names the Entrada. Fractured rock can produce uneven results over short distances, so ask for the neighboring well logs, construction details, tested yield, and static water level rather than assuming every lot shares the same groundwater conditions.

Lewis permit history and local drillers

The permit record stretches from the 1950s through a newest permit year of 2025. Activity was highest in the 2000s, with 25 permits issued in that decade. The 1980s account for 12, the 1970s for 6, and the 1990s for 4. Earlier decades show 1 permit in the 1950s and 1 in the 1960s; the 2010s show 2, followed by 1 in the 2020s.

Among the drillers appearing most often, Mcpherson Drilling Co. (Mcpherson, Billy G.) appears on 16 records, Ancell Drilling Service (Ancell, Lee) on 6, and Kenyon Drilling/Kenyon Motor (Kenyon, W K) on 5. These records describe past work, not current availability, so verify licensing, scheduling, and scope directly.

Lewis drilling cost at local depths

The cost model for Lewis assumes mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground and a drilling rate of $50 to $75 per foot. At the 125-foot median depth, the drilled hole is modeled at about $6,200 to $9,400. That is only the hole, not a complete water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at about $12,200 to $21,400 at that median depth. A deeper-than-typical hole can move the total higher, especially when casing, grout, difficult access, or additional trenching is involved. Ask for a written allowance that separates drilling from pump equipment and site work.

Lewis water, septic, and lot risks to check

There are 9 mapped PFAS sampling or contamination sites within about 10 miles of Lewis. That does not establish contamination on a particular property, but it makes water testing an important part of due diligence. Test the existing well, review construction and treatment history, and confirm the laboratory and sampling method before closing.

The records show 51% domestic or household permits, 14% stock, 1% irrigation, and 7% monitoring. A well's permitted use matters if your plan includes more than ordinary household use. Exempt household-use wells also have a 35-gallon-per-minute pumping limit. Check DWR records and current water-right requirements, including augmentation needs in an over-appropriated basin. Before building, confirm septic setbacks, usable drainfield area, access for a rig, electrical routing, and whether the lot can accommodate the house, well, and septic system together.

Buying or building near Lewis

Start by collecting the DWR permit and construction records for the property and nearby wells. Compare depth, aquifer description, casing and grout, pump test results, and static water level where those details exist. The 70-to-220-foot middle range is useful for comparing neighboring bids, but the 885-foot deepest record shows why a fixed shallow estimate can be risky.

For vacant land, make the purchase agreement address well location, drilling access, water testing, and what happens if the hole is dry or has inadequate yield. Nearby Dolores, Cortez, and Towaoc may help with broader contractor and service planning, but the well evidence should stay focused on the immediate area around Lewis. Have a Colorado water-rights professional review the intended use before construction begins.

Well permits by decade near Lewis

What a new well costs in Lewis, 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 (220 ft) would run roughly $17,000–$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 Lewis? 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 Lewis 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 Lewis

Keep researching

More in Montezuma County

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

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