Mancos, Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost Guide

How deep are wells around Mancos?

How much water do wells make near Mancos?

What well depth looks like around Mancos

Mancos wells have a 100-foot median reported depth. The middle half runs from 52 to 183 feet, so a normal bid may be based on a relatively shallow hole, but the spread is substantial. About 48% of recorded wells are under 100 feet, while 40% fall between 100 and 300 feet. Another 11% are between 300 and 600 feet, and 1% reach 600 feet or more. The deepest record is 1,085 feet.

That variation matters when comparing bids. Mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground can drill differently from one lot to the next, while fractured-bedrock conditions can produce uneven water-bearing zones. Ask a driller to review nearby permits rather than relying only on the countywide median. Dolores, Hesperus, Cortez, Marvel, Lewis, and Durango provide useful nearby context, but the closest wells to your parcel matter most.

Expected well yield for a Mancos property

The reported yield median near Mancos is 7.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 5.0 and 10.0 gallons per minute. Of the wells with yield records, 66% report between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, 21% report between 1 and 5 gallons per minute, and 14% report more than 15 gallons per minute. No recorded well in this set is under 1 gallon per minute.

Those results are generally workable for ordinary domestic use, but they do not promise a specific flow on an untested lot. A pump test and storage design are still important, especially for a larger home, irrigation plans, livestock, or multiple occupants. Most local permits are domestic or household permits, making up 79% of the use mix. Confirm the permitted use before assuming a well can serve additional demands.

Water levels and the Mancos groundwater picture

Among the 14 wells reporting static water level, the median depth to water is 28 feet. The middle half ranges from 13 to 69 feet. That gives a rough local indication of where water stood when those measurements were recorded, but it is not a guaranteed drilling depth or a current measurement for every parcel.

The permit history does not provide a water-level series by decade, so these records do not establish a dropping or rising groundwater trend. They also cover different locations, construction dates, and aquifer conditions. Before closing on land, ask for the nearest well permits and any available test or maintenance records. A driller can use those records to discuss likely water-bearing zones, pump setting, casing, grout, and whether the proposed well location fits the planned home and septic system.

Mancos drilling history and local permit records

Colorado DWR records show 364 permitted wells within 5 miles of Mancos. Permits were issued across several decades: 17 in the 1970s, 41 in the 1980s, 87 in the 1990s, 71 in the 2000s, 40 in the 2010s, and 28 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025. The record includes 198 wells listed as constructed, but only 29 report a pump yield, so the database is stronger for location and permit history than for predicting production.

The most active named drillers in these records are Mcpherson Drilling Co. (Mcpherson, Billy G.) with 24 wells and Beeman Bros Drilling Inc (Beeman, J. L.) with 23. “Authorized (Pe, Pg)” also appears on 23 records. Treat those counts as historical records, not an endorsement or a guarantee of current availability.

What a new Mancos well may cost

For the mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground identified in the local cost model, a typical drilling rate is $50 to $75 per foot. At the 100-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $5,000 to $7,500. That is not the complete water system. A finished well with pump, tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at about $11,000 to $19,500.

A deeper-than-typical hole can move the drilling portion higher, and difficult access or fractured-bedrock conditions can affect the work. Get the proposal in writing and ask what is included: mobilization, casing, grout, development, pump testing, pump equipment, pressure tank, electrical connection, trenching, permits, and restoration. Compare bids on the same scope. A low per-foot price may not be the lowest finished cost if major components are excluded.

Risks to check before buying or building near Mancos

Low yield is not the main pattern in the available reports, but the sample is limited because only 29 wells report a pump yield. Dry holes and uneven production remain possible, particularly where fractured-bedrock conditions control the water-bearing zones. Have the driller review nearby permits and identify a backup location if the parcel allows one. Confirm the intended well use with Colorado DWR; domestic, stock, irrigation, monitoring, and other uses can have different requirements.

Environmental due diligence also matters. The mapped area within about 10 miles includes 2 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 6 historic mine features, and 3 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Those mapped sites do not prove contamination at your property, but they justify reviewing available records and testing the finished well. Keep the well, septic system, replacement area, driveway, and house site coordinated. Septic setbacks, access for a rig, trench length, and electrical routing can change both feasibility and cost.

A practical plan for a Mancos lot

Start with the exact parcel, not the Mancos median. Pull nearby Colorado DWR permits and compare reported depths, yields, static water levels, construction status, and use. A 100-foot local median with a 52-to-183-foot middle half is useful for budgeting, but it leaves enough variation that a fixed drilling price should be treated carefully. Ask for a site visit before choosing the well location.

For a new build, place the well and septic layout together with the house, driveway, and utility route. Confirm access for the drill rig and heavy equipment, then request a complete finished-system estimate rather than a per-foot number alone. Test the completed well and water before occupancy. If the property is in an over-appropriated basin, ask whether an augmentation plan or other water-rights issue applies. The permit’s use and the home’s planned demand should match.

Well permits by decade near Mancos

What a new well costs in Mancos, 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 (183 ft) would run roughly $15,150–$25,725. 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 Mancos? 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 Mancos 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 Mancos

Keep researching

More in Montezuma County

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

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