What Mead, Colorado Well Records Show Buyers

How deep are wells around Mead?

How much water do wells make near Mead?

Mead well depth depends on the local formation

Mead’s permitted wells are associated mainly with Denver Basin aquifers and unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers. The records identify Denver Basin aquifer wells as 62% of the total, with 694 wells tied to unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers and 122 tied to alluvial aquifers.

Most reported wells are shallow: 90% are under 100 feet. The middle half falls between 15 and 39 feet, which gives a driller a useful starting point for a bid, not a guaranteed finished depth. Six percent are 100 to 300 feet, 4% are 300 to 600 feet, and 1% exceed 600 feet. A 1,000-foot record shows why a neighboring well is more useful than a countywide guess.

Expected well yield around Mead

The reported yield median is 15.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 10.0 and 65.0 gallons per minute. Among the 73 wells that report a pump yield, 58% report more than 15 gallons per minute. Another 30% fall from 5 to 15 gallons per minute.

Low-producing wells are present but uncommon in this record: 11% report 1 to 5 gallons per minute and 1% report under 1 gallon per minute. Treat those figures as local context, not a promise for a particular lot. Ask for the well construction report, pump test, permitted use, storage capacity and any production limitations before relying on the water for a house, livestock or irrigation.

Mead water levels and what the record suggests

Reported static water levels are shallow. The median depth to water is 9 feet, and the middle half runs from 6 to 12 feet below the surface. That can reduce pumping lift, but it also means excavation, casing, grout and surface drainage deserve careful attention.

The decade series does not show a dropping table in these records. The median measured water level was 12 feet below the surface in the 2010s and 8 feet in the 2020s, meaning the later reported measurements were closer to the surface. Measurements come from only 90 wells, so do not use the series as a guarantee for a specific parcel. A current measurement and a nearby well history are better checks.

Permit history shows continuing Mead activity

Mead has a long permit record, with permits issued from the 1950s through the 2020s and the newest permit year listed as 2026. The busiest decades in the records were the 2000s, with 246 permits, and the 2020s, with 196. That history gives buyers more neighboring records to compare than a recently developed area would.

The database lists 1,038 permitted wells, but only 538 as constructed. Use the Colorado Division of Water Resources permit and construction documents to confirm that an existing well was actually completed, what it may legally serve, and whether the permit matches the property. The most active listed driller is Authorized (Pe, Pg), followed by Terracon Consultants Inc. (Rogers, Richard C.) and Marshall Drilling (Marshall, James C.).

What drilling a Mead well can cost

The local cost model uses a typical drilling rate of $50 to $70 per foot in Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock. At the 22-foot median depth, the drilled hole alone models to about $1,100 to $1,500. That is not the price of a usable water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical is modeled at about $7,100 to $13,500. A contractor’s actual bid can change with access, casing and grout requirements, pump size, power availability, water treatment and the final depth. A shallow result may still need substantial site work. Get the drilling scope and the complete well-system scope in writing so the low per-foot rate does not hide omitted work.

Mead risks to check before you close

Low yield and dry-hole risk cannot be ruled out by the local median. The records include wells under 1 gallon per minute, and the 1,000-foot maximum shows that depth can vary sharply. Fractured-bedrock conditions are especially unpredictable because a nearby hole may not intersect the same water-bearing fractures.

Water quality also needs a property-specific test. Mapped environmental information within about 10 miles includes 1,163 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 8 historic mine features and 6 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Those mapped sites do not prove contamination at a parcel, but they are a reason to test for the contaminants relevant to the location. Check septic setbacks, soil, drainage, building-envelope space and the legal water use before buying or designing.

A practical Mead lot-buying plan

Start with the exact parcel, then compare nearby DWR records rather than relying on the Mead median. Look for reported depth, static water level, yield, aquifer name, construction status and permitted use. Berthoud, Firestone, Johnstown, Longmont, Platteville and Frederick provide broader regional context, but a well beside the lot is the stronger comparison.

For an existing home, request the permit, construction report, pump information, water-quality results and maintenance history. For vacant land, confirm that a new well can be permitted for the intended household use and that the septic system, driveway and building site can fit together. In an over-appropriated basin, an augmentation plan may be required for some uses. Have a Colorado well contractor and the appropriate county or water officials review the plan before closing.

Well permits by decade near Mead

What a new well costs in Mead, 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 (39 ft) would run roughly $7,950–$14,730. 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 Mead? 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 Mead 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 Mead

Keep researching

More in Weld County

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

Nearby areas