Nederland, Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost

How deep are wells around Nederland?

How much water do wells make near Nederland?

Nederland’s mountain bedrock sets the drilling depth

Depths around Nederland vary widely because most permits identify an unnamed fractured-bedrock aquifer. The middle half of reported wells runs from 140 to 400 feet, so a driller’s bid based only on the median can be too narrow. The 90th percentile is 500 feet, and the deepest recorded well reaches 1,301 feet.

About 18% of wells are under 100 feet. Another 38% fall between 100 and 300 feet, while 38% are between 300 and 600 feet. The remaining 6% exceed 600 feet. In practical terms, fractured granite and gneiss can produce water through isolated fractures, making nearby well depths more useful than a countywide rule.

What a Nederland well may produce

Among wells with a reported pump yield, the median is 7.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 5.0 and 10.0 gallons per minute. That is generally a workable planning range for a household well, but the well’s storage, pump setting, tank, and actual use still matter.

The records show 68% producing between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, 22% between 1 and 5 gallons per minute, and 3% under 1 gallon per minute. A low-yield well is not automatically unusable, but it may require careful demand planning and storage. Ask for the well test, not just a verbal production estimate.

Water levels around Nederland and the measured trend

The median reported static water level is 42 feet below the surface, with the middle half between 20 and 70 feet. That is the depth to standing water when the well is not being pumped; it is not the same as total well depth or the water level during heavy use.

By measurement decade, the median was 25 feet below surface in the 1970s, 55 feet in the 2010s, and 47 feet in the 2020s. The series suggests water was measured deeper in the later records than in the 1970s, but it does not establish a steady decline. The sample is limited, with only 116 wells reporting static water level.

Permit history and drillers serving the area

Colorado DWR records contain 2,568 permitted wells within five miles of Nederland. Permit activity was highest in the 1970s, with 529 permits, followed by 510 in the 1990s and 378 in the 1980s. The newest permit year in the records is 2025.

The most common driller listed is Ground Water Systems Inc (Wilson, Richard R.), with 665 records. C R Smith Drilling Inc (Smith, Frank) appears on 239, and C. R. Smith Drilling (Smith, Calvin R.) on 171. These names describe permit history, not a recommendation. Confirm current licensing, availability, access requirements, and a written bid before hiring.

Nederland well drilling cost and the finished system

In Nederland’s fractured granite and gneiss, the drilling rate model is $65-$100 per foot. At the 260-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $16,900-$26,000. That is only the drilling portion and should not be treated as the complete water-system budget.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at about $22,900-$38,000 at the median depth. A deeper hole, difficult access, casing and grout requirements, or difficult trenching can change the bid. Because 38% of reported wells are between 300 and 600 feet, request pricing that clearly states what happens if the hole must continue beyond the planned depth.

Risks to check before building near Nederland

Most permits are for domestic or household use, at 94% of the records. The aquifer names are mainly unnamed fractured-bedrock aquifer, with 2,490 wells, while 16 identify Fractured Crystalline and 5 identify Fractured Granite. Fractured rock can be unpredictable: one lot may produce adequately while another nearby lot has a low-yield or dry hole.

Environmental screening also matters. Within about ten miles are 13 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 1,394 historic mine features, and 14 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These mapped sites do not prove a problem at a particular property. Test the existing well, review nearby mine and cleanup locations, and design septic setbacks, access, foundation work, and drainage around the actual lot.

Buying or building in Bonanza Mountain Estates and nearby

Start with the closest permitted wells, especially around Bonanza Mountain Estates, Rollinsville, St. Ann Highlands, Eldora, Sugarloaf, and Ward. Compare reported depth, yield, static water level, construction, and use. A nearby result is valuable evidence, but fractured-bedrock conditions can change over short distances.

For a purchase, make the well inspection and water test part of due diligence. Confirm the permit, pump equipment, storage, production history, and whether the home’s intended use matches the permit. For a new build, have a driller and septic designer review access and the complete site before finalizing the house location. If the well is marginal, plan realistic household demand and storage rather than assuming the median yield will apply.

Well permits by decade near Nederland

What a new well costs in Nederland, 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 (400 ft) would run roughly $32,000–$52,000. 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 Nederland? 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 Nederland 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 Nederland

Keep researching

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

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