Mulford, Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost Guide

How deep are wells around Mulford?

How much water do wells make near Mulford?

Mulford well depth: what the local ground shows

Mulford wells vary considerably. The median total depth is 125 feet, while the middle half runs from 53 to 246 feet. About 44% are under 100 feet, and 39% fall between 100 and 300 feet. Another 16% are between 300 and 600 feet, with the deepest recorded well reaching 700 feet.

That spread matters when you request a drilling bid. A contractor may be able to use nearby completion records as a starting point, but the estimate should allow for changing sedimentary and alluvial ground and for the possibility that the first water-bearing zone is not productive enough. Most permits identify an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer; only 32 name an alluvial aquifer, and none name a Denver Basin aquifer.

How much water can a Mulford well produce?

The reported median yield is 15.0 gpm, and the middle half of reported yields is also listed as 15.0 to 15.0 gpm. Three quarters of wells with yield data report more than 15 gpm. About 23% report between 5 and 15 gpm, while 2% report between 1 and 5 gpm. No wells in the available yield records are listed under 1 gpm.

That is encouraging for a home buyer, but yield data are not the same as guaranteed daily supply. Ask for the well construction report, pump test information, and permitted use. A domestic well must be evaluated against the house, irrigation, livestock, and storage needs planned for the property. Exempt household-use wells also have a 35 gpm pumping limit, and an augmentation plan may be required in an over-appropriated basin.

Water levels around Mulford and the long-term picture

The median static water level is 38 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 15 to 164 feet. That range is wide enough to affect pump setting, trenching, and the cost of bringing water into a home. A shallow water level does not by itself prove that a well will have a strong production rate.

The decade medians do not show a simple, steady decline. Measurements were 100 feet in the 1970s, 33 in the 1980s, 32 in the 1990s, 21 in the 2000s, 74 in the 2010s, and 36 in the 2020s. Because only 239 records report a static water level and measurement conditions vary, treat this as local historical context rather than a parcel-specific groundwater forecast.

Who has drilled near Mulford, and when

Permit history is concentrated in several periods. The records show 4 permits in the 1950s, 91 in the 1960s, 256 in the 1970s, 320 in the 1980s, 768 in the 1990s, 430 in the 2000s, 252 in the 2010s, and 183 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025. Most wells are domestic or household wells, making up 71% of the use mix; monitoring wells account for 14%.

By recorded driller, Shelton Drilling Corporation is the most common name with 978 wells. Collins Drilling Co has 327, and Steve Shelton Drilling, Inc. has 124. These records can help identify local experience, but they do not establish current availability, pricing, or a recommendation. Confirm licensing, insurance, references, and the proposed construction details directly.

What a new well costs in Mulford

The local cost model uses a typical drilling rate of $50-$75 per foot for mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground. At the 125-foot median depth, the drilled hole is estimated at about $6,200-$9,400. A finished system, including pump, tank, trenching, and electrical, is estimated at approximately $12,200-$21,400.

Use the finished-system range when comparing land, not just the per-foot drilling number. A bid can change with access, casing and grout requirements, hard or fractured material, water testing, power availability, and the final well depth. Ask what is included and what is charged if the hole is dry or the first water zone does not meet the needed yield. A permit and construction report should be part of the closeout file.

Mulford risks to check before you commit

Low yield is not prominent in the reported records, but a dry hole or an inadequate completion remains a property-specific risk, especially in fractured bedrock where water can be unpredictable. Review neighboring well logs in Mulford, Catherine, Carbondale, and El Jebel for depth, aquifer description, yield, static level, casing, and grout details. Do not rely only on a seller's verbal description.

Environmental review also deserves attention. The mapped area has 9 PFAS sampling or contamination sites and 17 historic mine features within about 10 miles. There are no EPA Superfund or cleanup sites in that radius, but well-water testing is still appropriate. Check septic setbacks, replacement-area requirements, driveway access, building envelopes, and separation from drainfields before placing a house or outbuilding.

Buying or building on a Mulford lot

Before closing, obtain the DWR permit, well construction report, pump information, and any available production or water-level records. Compare the parcel with nearby permitted wells rather than assuming the 125-foot median applies exactly. If the lot has no well, get a driller's site review and a written allowance for access, drilling, casing, pump equipment, trenching, electrical work, testing, and a possible unsuccessful hole.

For a new build, confirm the legal water supply and intended use with Colorado DWR and the county. Plan the well, septic system, driveway, and house together so setbacks and equipment access work. Test existing water before purchase and again after construction or major work. The records show useful local production, but the final decision should be based on this parcel's permit, geology, water quality, and construction plan.

Well permits by decade near Mulford

What a new well costs in Mulford, 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 (246 ft) would run roughly $18,300–$30,450. 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 Mulford? 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 Mulford 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 Mulford

Keep researching

More in Garfield County

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

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