What Montrose Wells Are Really Like

How deep are wells around Montrose?

How much water do wells make near Montrose?

Montrose well depths vary sharply by ground and location

The median well depth near Montrose is 35 feet, and the middle half of recorded wells falls between 25 and 53 feet. That is a shallow drilling profile compared with many Colorado locations. Still, the local range is substantial: the 90th-percentile depth is 200 feet, and the deepest record is 920 feet.

About 84% of wells are under 100 feet. Another 11% fall between 100 and 300 feet, while 3% are between 300 and 600 feet and 1% exceed 600 feet. Most permits name an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer, with 19 alluvial wells and 6 Dakota wells. A driller should use nearby logs, geology, access, casing, and grout requirements rather than quoting from the median alone.

A Montrose well usually has useful production

Only 33 wells in the records report a pump yield, so the yield sample is much smaller than the total well count. Within that reporting group, the median yield is 15.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half from 10.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute.

The recorded mix is encouraging for a household buyer: 58% report more than 15 gallons per minute, 36% report between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, and 6% report between 1 and 5 gallons per minute. No reported well is under 1 gallon per minute. These figures are not a guarantee for an unbuilt lot. Ask for the well test, permitted use, storage setup, and any seasonal limitations. Household, stock, irrigation, and monitoring permits may not support the same uses.

Water levels near Montrose are relatively shallow

Forty wells report a static water level. The median depth to water is 21 feet, and the middle half ranges from 11 to 22 feet below the surface. A shallow water level can reduce pumping lift, but it does not by itself prove that a new well will be shallow, productive, or free of treatment concerns.

The decade series does not suggest a dropping water table in these records. Median measured depth to water was 22 feet in the 2000s, 12 feet in the 2010s, and 8 feet in the 2020s. The measurements are limited and may come from different wells, seasons, and conditions, so treat the pattern as local context rather than a guarantee. A buyer should compare the well permit, completion report, and recent test results for the specific property.

Permit history shows steady drilling around Montrose

The records contain 1,234 permitted wells, with 750 recorded as constructed. Permit activity was highest in the 2000s, with 243 permits, followed by 213 in the 2010s. The 2020s account for 76 permits so far, and the newest permit year is 2025. Older decades also remain important because many rural properties rely on established wells.

The most active drillers named in these records are Authorized (Pe, Pg), with 263 wells, Johnson Brothers (Johnson, Chester T), with 52, and Valley Drilling Co. (Stoy, Kenneth), with 33. A permit is not a performance warranty. Before buying, obtain the completion report, verify the well location, confirm the permitted use, and ask whether the current owner has maintenance or pump records.

What a new Montrose well may cost

Local drilling conditions are described as mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground. The drilling rate model is $50 to $75 per foot. At the 35-foot median depth, the drilled hole is modeled at about $1,800 to $2,600.

That is only the hole. A finished system, including the pump, tank, trenching, and electrical work, is modeled at about $7,800 to $14,600. A deeper-than-typical hole, difficult access, casing and grout requirements, water-system layout, or electrical distance can change the bid. Use the local depth distribution when requesting estimates: most wells are under 100 feet, but the 90th-percentile depth is 200 feet and the record reaches 920 feet. Get a written scope that separates drilling from completion work.

Checks that matter before building near Montrose

Low yield is not the main warning in the reported sample, but the sample includes only 33 yield reports. Dry holes and poor production remain possible on an untested lot, especially where nearby geology changes. Fractured-bedrock wells can be unpredictable because water-bearing fractures are not evenly distributed. Neighboring well logs are useful evidence, not a promise.

Water quality also deserves a separate review. Within about 10 miles, the map includes 24 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 4 historic mine features, and 1 EPA Superfund or cleanup site. Order testing appropriate to the property and its surroundings. Locate the well and septic system with the building plan in mind, confirm setbacks with the applicable authorities, and check whether an augmentation plan or other water-rights approval is needed for the proposed use.

A practical buying plan for a Montrose lot

Start with the specific parcel, not the countywide median. Search nearby permits, read completion reports, and compare depths, aquifers, static levels, and reported yields. Colona, Olathe, Loghill Village, Crawford, Lazear, and Ridgway provide broader regional context, but the closest comparable wells should carry the most weight.

Ask the seller for the well permit, construction report, pump information, water-quality results, and maintenance history. Confirm that the permitted use matches the home, livestock, or irrigation plans. For a vacant lot, have a Colorado driller review access, siting, expected depth, and the cost of a complete water system before closing. If the property will need a new septic system, driveway, or substantial grading, coordinate those locations with the well from the beginning.

Well permits by decade near Montrose

What a new well costs in Montrose, 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 (53 ft) would run roughly $8,650–$15,975. 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 Montrose? 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 Montrose 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 Montrose

Keep researching

More in Montrose County

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

Nearby areas