Orchard City, Colorado Well Information

How deep are wells around Orchard City?

How much water do wells make near Orchard City?

Orchard City well depth: usually shallow, but not always

The median reported well depth near Orchard City is 70 feet. The middle half runs from 40 to 101 feet, and 72% of reported depths are under 100 feet. Another 27% fall between 100 and 300 feet. The deepest record reaches 850 feet, so a shallow local pattern should not be treated as a promise for every lot.

For a drilling bid, the 40-to-101-foot middle range gives a reasonable first planning bracket. Ground conditions, the target water-bearing material, casing and grout requirements, and the exact location can move the final depth. Most permits name an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer, while only 1 names an alluvial aquifer and 6 name Mancos. That mix is one reason nearby well logs matter before construction.

What Orchard City wells produce

Among the 75 wells reporting a pump yield, the median is 15.0 gallons per minute. The middle half is also 15.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute, and 77% report more than 15 gallons per minute. Another 19% fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, while 4% report 1 to 5 gallons per minute. No reported well is under 1 gallon per minute.

Those figures describe reported well tests, not a guaranteed household supply. A buyer should ask for the original well construction and yield records, then have the pump, pressure tank and storage arrangement sized for the intended home. Domestic and household use accounts for 64% of the permits, with stock at 13% and irrigation at 9%.

Water levels around Orchard City and the measured trend

The reported median static water level is 10 feet below ground surface, with the middle half between 9 and 12 feet. That is shallow water in the records and can affect excavation, casing, grout and septic planning. It does not mean water will stand at the same depth on an untested parcel.

The decade series shows a deeper measured median in the 2020s: 20 feet below surface compared with 10 feet in the 2000s. That change suggests the measured wells may be seeing a lower water level, but only 24 records report a static water level, so it is not enough by itself to establish a basin-wide decline. Ask for the measurement date, well location and measurement method before drawing a conclusion.

Who has drilled near Orchard City, and when

Permit activity is spread across several decades. The records show 3 permits in the 1960s, 48 in the 1970s, 23 in the 1980s, 56 in the 1990s, 163 in the 2000s, 37 in the 2010s and 30 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025. That history gives a buyer a useful pool of older logs, but older wells may have different construction, equipment and use conditions.

The most active names in the records are Bill Kissner Drilling Inc, also listed as Kissner, Bill F., with 70 wells, and Wildcat Drilling & Pump, Inc., listed as Kissner, Billy D., with 70. K. W. Anderson Drilling, listed as Anderson, Kermit W, appears on 29. These records identify historical activity, not a recommendation or a statement that a driller is currently available.

Estimated Orchard City well drilling cost

For the mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground described in the local cost model, the typical drilling rate is $50 to $75 per foot. At the 70-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $3,500 to $5,200. That is only the hole, not the complete water system.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical is modeled at about $9,500 to $17,200 at the median depth. A quote can change with access, casing and grout, water quality requirements, pump size, trench length, power work and the final depth. When comparing bids, confirm which items are included and ask how the contractor handles a deeper-than-expected hole or an unsuccessful drilling attempt.

Orchard City risks to check before buying or building

Water quantity is favorable in the reported yield records, but the sample is limited to 75 wells. A dry hole or a lower-producing well remains possible on a specific parcel, particularly where the local fractured-bedrock conditions do not match a nearby log. Verify the permit, permitted use, construction record, pump test and current equipment rather than relying on a seller’s verbal description.

Water quality also deserves a site-specific review. Mapped environmental records within about 10 miles include 25 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 48 historic mine features and 12 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Those mapped locations do not prove contamination at a property, but they are a reason to test the well water and check nearby land uses. Confirm septic setbacks, building envelopes, drainage and access before choosing a homesite.

A practical Orchard City lot-buying plan

Start with the Colorado Division of Water Resources permit and construction records for the parcel and nearby wells. Compare depth, aquifer description, yield test, static water level and intended use. Cedaredge is about 6 miles away and Delta about 8 miles; Lazear, Hotchkiss, Olathe and Paonia are also useful local reference areas, but the closest comparable wells should carry the most weight.

For a new build, obtain a driller’s site-specific estimate and a septic evaluation before finalizing the house location. Budget for the complete system rather than drilling alone, and confirm power, trench access, storage and water testing. If the property depends on an exempt household-use well, review the permit limits carefully; an exempt well is not a general-purpose irrigation or development water right.

Well permits by decade near Orchard City

What a new well costs in Orchard City, 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 (101 ft) would run roughly $11,050–$19,575. 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 Orchard City? 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 Orchard City 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 Orchard City

Keep researching

More in Delta County

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

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