What to Expect From a Well in Mineral County

How deep are wells around Mineral County?

How much water do wells make near Mineral County?

An 80-Foot Median, With a Long Deep-Well Tail

Of the 1,098 wells reporting depth, the middle half run 50-120 feet. That gives a driller a practical starting range for a bid, but the agreement should explain how additional footage is charged. Under 100 feet accounts for 59% of reported depths; the 90th-percentile depth is 240 feet, and the deepest record reaches 1,386 feet.

Most aquifer entries are unnamed or classified as fractured bedrock. In mountain bedrock, the location and connection of water-bearing fractures can matter more than the depth of a nearby well. Around Creede, compare logs from similar terrain rather than assuming a nearby shallow completion sets your drilling depth.

Reported Production Is Stronger Than a Low-Yield Buyer Might Expect

The 453 records with pump yields show a 15.0 gpm median, with the middle half at 10.0-15.0 gpm. For a household buyer, that is an encouraging reported range. The yield mix shows 3% at 1-5 gpm and 0% under 1 gpm.

Do not read that zero as proof that low-yield wells or unsuccessful drilling never occur. These figures describe reported pump yields, not every permit or drilling attempt. Before buying, obtain a current production test and review recovery behavior. A reported yield also does not authorize irrigation or other uses; the DWR permit controls what the well may legally supply.

Water Levels Are Deeper in the Recent Records

Static water level is the depth to standing water in a resting well, not the total drilled depth. Mineral County has just 119 records reporting it. The median is 35 feet below ground, and the middle half is 10-64 feet.

The decade medians move from 27 feet in the 2010s to 38 feet in the 2020s. That suggests deeper water levels in the more recent measurements, but it does not establish a countywide falling water table: different wells, locations and measurement conditions may be represented. For a purchase, compare repeated measurements from the same well where available, along with pumping drawdown and recovery.

Mineral County’s Permit Activity Peaked in Earlier Decades

The largest permit totals were 303 in the 2000s and 302 in the 1990s. Records show 170 in the 2010s and 131 in the 2020s, with the newest permit dated 2026. The current decade is incomplete, and permit issuance is not the same as completed drilling. Domestic/household uses account for 80% of the use mix.

The most active named drillers are Valley Pump Company (Self, Clinton L.) with 192 records, Irrigation Engineering & Supp. (Burk, Coy) with 130, and Larry Burk Drilling (Burk, Larry) with 112. Those historical counts can help identify who completed neighboring wells; they do not establish current availability or licensing.

Budget Beyond the Drilled Hole Near Creede

The supplied cost model assumes fractured mountain bedrock—granite or gneiss—at $65-$100 per foot. At the county’s 80-foot median depth, the drilled hole is estimated at $5,200-$8,000. A finished well with pump, tank, trenching and electrical is estimated at $11,200-$20,000.

Treat that as a planning allowance, not a parcel-specific quote. The 50-120-foot middle range means bids should clearly separate footage charges from completion work. Ask what casing, grout, testing and mobilization are included. Mountain access and the route between the well and house also deserve a site visit before you commit to a finished-system price.

Mine Features and Cleanup Sites Call for Targeted Testing

The environmental mapping lists 460 historic mine features, 5 PFAS sampling/contamination sites and 5 EPA Superfund/cleanup sites within about 10 miles. These are screening flags, not evidence that every nearby well is contaminated. A sampling location alone does not establish contamination in your water.

Review the parcel’s relationship to mapped sites and arrange certified laboratory testing for bacteria, nitrate and locally relevant metals; discuss PFAS testing where site history warrants it. Inspect the well cap, casing and drainage, too. Poor surface protection can create problems unrelated to the aquifer. For a new build, coordinate well and septic placement before fixing the house footprint or excavation plan.

Make the Lot Prove Itself Before You Buy

Start with the parcel’s DWR permit, construction log, pump information and water-quality results. Confirm that the authorized use matches your plans; a household-use permit should not be assumed to cover outdoor watering or livestock. If the lot has no well, establish the permitting path before treating water as assured.

Use the Creede and City of Creede pages to narrow the record search. Nearby Hinsdale County and Rio Grande County offer regional context, but closer wells in comparable terrain are better evidence. Make the purchase contingent on satisfactory water due diligence where possible, and have the driller and septic installer review access, setbacks and the proposed building layout together.

Well permits by decade near Mineral County

What a new well costs in Mineral County

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 (120 ft) would run roughly $13,800–$24,000. 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 Mineral County? 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 Mineral County 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 Mineral County

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