What Milliken Wells Cost, Produce, and Require

How deep are wells around Milliken?

How much water do wells make near Milliken?

Milliken wells are usually shallow, but the range is wide

The median recorded well depth near Milliken is 36 feet. The middle half runs from 22 to 60 feet, and 95% of wells are under 100 feet. The 90th percentile is 83 feet. That is a favorable starting point when a driller prepares a bid for a typical plains property.

The record is not uniform. Wells between 100 and 300 feet make up 3% of the depth mix, and wells between 300 and 600 feet make up 2%. The deepest recorded well is 900 feet. Permits identify Denver Basin aquifers for 76% of wells, while 1,336 name an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer and 354 name Alluvial aquifers. Local geology can still change the result sharply from one parcel to the next.

Most Milliken wells report strong production

Only 210 wells in the records report a pump yield, so the yield statistics are a smaller sample than the depth statistics. Among those reports, the median yield is 21.5 gallons per minute, and 80% report more than 15 gallons per minute. Another 15% fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute.

No reported wells are under 1 gallon per minute, while 4% are in the 1-to-5-gallon range. The reported middle half is unusually broad at 15.0 to 868.8 gallons per minute, which signals a dataset with very large reported values and limited comparability. A buyer should ask for the actual well test, pump information, storage capacity and intended household, livestock or irrigation use.

Milliken water levels are close to the surface

Reported static water levels are shallow. The median depth to water is 11 feet, with the middle half between 7 and 19 feet below the surface. That can reduce the lift a pump must handle, but it also means excavation, trenching and wellhead work deserve attention during wet conditions.

The decade comparison does not show a dropping water table in these records. The median measured depth to water was 16 feet in the 2010s and 10 feet in the 2020s, meaning the reported water level was closer to the surface in the newer decade. This is a permit-record trend, not a guarantee of seasonal or parcel-specific conditions. A driller should verify the static level at the property and inspect neighboring well information.

Milliken permit activity spans decades

Milliken has a long permit history. Records show 106 permits from the 1950s, 141 from the 1960s, 74 from the 1970s, 75 from the 1980s, 319 from the 1990s, 211 from the 2000s, 244 from the 2010s and 457 from the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2026.

The most active names in the records are Authorized (Pe, Pg), with 574 wells; Clement, Glenn A., with 118; and Drilling Engineers Inc. (Smith, Chester C.), with 61. These records describe historical permit activity, not a current recommendation or proof that a driller is available. Confirm licensing, insurance, scheduling, scope of work and who will handle the permit before signing a contract.

A typical Milliken well has a manageable drilling bid

The cost model for Milliken uses Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock at $50 to $70 per foot. At the 36-foot median depth, the drilled hole is estimated at about $1,800 to $2,500. That figure is only the hole, not a functioning water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical is modeled at about $7,800 to $14,500 at the median depth. A deeper-than-typical hole, difficult access, extra casing or unusual electrical and trenching work can move the price. Ask for a written bid separating drilling, casing and grout, pump equipment, testing, trenching, electrical and permit-related work so competing bids cover the same scope.

Check contamination, septic setbacks, and low-use details

Mapped environmental information deserves a closer look before closing. The area within about 10 miles contains 1,931 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 3 historic mine features and 4 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. A map point does not by itself establish contamination at a parcel, but it is a reason to order a current water test and review environmental records for the specific address.

Low yield is not the main pattern in the reported Milliken sample, yet 1,925 wells do not report a pump yield. A dry hole or weak production is still possible on an individual lot. Confirm septic suitability, well-to-septic separation, drainage, access for a rig, building envelopes and electrical routing. Household-use wells may be exempt wells, but the permit controls the allowed use; irrigation or expanded use may require different water rights or an augmentation plan.

Use nearby wells to price and plan your Milliken lot

Before buying, pull the DWR permit and construction records for the property and compare nearby wells in Johnstown, Gilcrest, Berthoud, Platteville, Evans and La Salle when the geology and aquifer are comparable. Look for total depth, casing, static water level, pump yield, water quality and the permitted use. The local median is a useful benchmark, not a promise.

For a new build, make the well, septic system, driveway and utility routes part of the site plan from the beginning. Have a licensed driller confirm the likely target and access conditions, then obtain a water-quality test before relying on the supply. If the property is in an over-appropriated basin or the proposed use goes beyond ordinary exempt household use, ask a water-rights professional whether an augmentation plan is required.

Well permits by decade near Milliken

What a new well costs in Milliken, 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 (60 ft) would run roughly $9,000–$16,200. 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 Milliken? 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 Milliken 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 Milliken

Keep researching

More in Weld County

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

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