What Wells Are Like Around Olney Springs, Colorado

How deep are wells around Olney Springs?

How much water do wells make near Olney Springs?

Shallow wells are typical around Olney Springs

The local depth record is unusually concentrated near the surface. 96% of the wells are under 100 feet, while the middle half of reported depths is only 31 to 50 feet. The 90th percentile is 76 feet, so a contractor estimating a routine domestic well may start with a shallow drilling allowance.

That does not eliminate surprises. The deepest well in the record is 1,550 feet, and a small share reaches the 100 to 300-foot range or beyond. The ground is described as alluvium and plains sedimentary rock. Local changes in sand, gravel, clay, cemented layers, or fractured rock can change both drilling time and the final casing and grout design.

Reported well yields are strong, but the sample is limited

Only 44 wells report a pump yield, so treat the yield statistics as a guide rather than a promise for every parcel. In that reporting group, the median is 225 gallons per minute, with the middle half from 15 to 600 gallons per minute. 77% report more than 15 gallons per minute, 18% fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, and 5% are between 1 and 5 gallons per minute.

That pattern is favorable for many uses, but a high reported yield may reflect irrigation or stock wells rather than a household well. Ask for the well use, pump test details, and permit conditions. An exempt household-use well is generally limited to 35 gallons per minute under Colorado rules, and a strong well still needs properly sized pump, pressure tank, storage, and electrical service.

Water levels near Olney Springs appear relatively shallow

Only 16 wells report a static water level, so the water-level sample is much smaller than the depth record. Within those reports, the median depth to water is 22 feet, and the middle half is 13 to 28 feet. For construction planning, that suggests many wells may encounter water well above their total drilled depth.

The permit counts by decade do not establish a water-table trend. They show activity from the 1950s through the 2020s, with the newest permit year being 2025, but they do not provide comparable water-level readings for each decade. Do not assume the water table is rising or falling from permit counts alone. A driller can check nearby logs and measure an existing well where access is available.

Permit history points to long local drilling experience

Olney Springs and the nearby plains have a long well-permit history. Records include 82 permits from the 1950s, 55 from the 1960s, 31 from the 1970s, and 29 from the 1980s. Later records include 66 in the 1990s, 64 in the 2000s, 48 in the 2010s, and 21 in the 2020s.

The most active names in these records are Crandall, H A with 40 wells, Broce Drilling (Broce, Frank R.) with 31, and Hoffman (Hoffman, Earl) with 23. These are historical permit records, not a recommendation or proof of current availability. Confirm licensing, insurance, scheduling, and who will handle the permit, testing, pump installation, and completion report.

A median-depth well has a manageable starting budget

The local cost model uses $35 to $55 per foot for drilling in alluvium and plains sedimentary rock. At the 40-foot median depth, that puts the drilled hole at about $1,400 to $2,200. A finished system, including pump, tank, trenching, and electrical work, is modeled at about $7,400 to $14,200.

Use that range for early planning, not as a fixed bid. Access for the rig, casing and grout requirements, pump depth, trench length, difficult layers, water testing, and power connection can move the price. A lot near Crowley or Fowler may have a different access and trenching problem than a parcel with an established driveway. Get the drilling and completion items separated in writing before comparing bids.

Check water quality, septic space, and low-yield risk

The mapped area within about 10 miles includes 2 PFAS sampling or contamination sites and 2 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. There are 0 historic mine features in that mapped set. Those records do not prove contamination at a specific home, but they are a reason to identify the sites, check the proposed lot’s distance and drainage relationship, and order water testing after completion.

Low yield is not the main pattern in the reported sample, yet the sample is limited and dry holes remain possible. Confirm the permit’s allowed use, test for bacteria and relevant local contaminants, and leave room for a compliant septic system, replacement area, access, and building setbacks. If the basin is over-appropriated, an augmentation plan may be needed for some uses.

Buy the lot after reviewing its neighbors and permit

For a purchase, start with the Colorado DWR permit record and inspect wells on adjoining or nearby parcels. Compare total depth, aquifer description, use, yield, static water level, casing, and completion notes rather than relying on one unusually productive well. Nearby places in the record area include Crowley and Fowler, with Manzanola also close enough to provide broader local context.

For a new build, ask a licensed driller to walk the access route and proposed well location before closing. Confirm that the well can serve the planned household use, that the septic layout works with the well location, and that electric service can reach the pump equipment. If the property will need irrigation, livestock water, or additional supply, address those uses with the water-rights and permit review instead of assuming a domestic well covers them.

Well permits by decade near Olney Springs

What a new well costs in Olney Springs, 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 (50 ft) would run roughly $7,750–$14,750. 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 Olney Springs? 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 Olney Springs 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 Olney Springs

Keep researching

More in Crowley County

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

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