What Ovid, Colorado Wells Are Really Like

How deep are wells around Ovid?

How much water do wells make near Ovid?

Ovid well depths stay shallow, but not every lot is the same

Ovid’s reported well depth has a median of 64 feet, with the middle half between 49 and 90 feet. That is a useful starting point for a drilling estimate: many bids should be based on a relatively shallow hole, not an assumed deep Front Range well. Still, the spread matters. The 90th-percentile depth is 149 feet, and the deepest recorded well reaches 502 feet.

Depth records show 77% of wells under 100 feet, 21% between 100 and 300 feet, and 2% between 300 and 600 feet. Local ground is described as alluvium and plains sedimentary rock. A driller will still need to account for the exact lot, nearby logs, casing and grout requirements, and the possibility that the first water-bearing zone is not adequate.

What Ovid wells produce for homes and livestock

Among the 45 wells that report a pump yield, the median is 50.0 gallons per minute. The middle half runs from 14.0 to 800.0 gallons per minute, which is a very wide range. Most reported wells are productive: 73% show yields of 15 gallons per minute or more, 24% fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, and 2% fall between 1 and 5 gallons per minute. No reported well is under 1 gallon per minute.

That does not guarantee a particular parcel. Yield figures may represent different testing methods and uses, and only a portion of the constructed wells reports a yield. Ask for the well completion report, pump test information, storage capacity, and actual recovery behavior. A household may need less than a stock or irrigation well, but a strong reported area average is not a substitute for testing the well you will own.

Ovid water levels are shallow, but the trend is not proven

The 21 reported static water levels have a median depth to water of 20 feet, with the middle half from 10 to 27 feet. For excavation and well planning, that suggests water may be encountered relatively close to the surface in many parts of the Ovid area. It also means a contractor should consider shallow groundwater when planning trenching, drainage, and equipment access.

The permit history does not establish a falling water table. The available static-water sample is small, and the records provided do not give a water-level series by decade. Do not treat the 20-foot median as a guaranteed pumping level. A current measurement, neighboring well logs, seasonal conditions, and a pump test are more useful for judging the individual property.

Who has drilled around Ovid and when permits were issued

The permit record goes back to the 1950s and includes a newest permit year of 2024. Permit counts were 73 in the 1950s, 44 in the 1960s, 35 in the 1970s, 47 in the 1980s, 45 in the 1990s, 98 in the 2000s, 15 in the 2010s, and 18 in the 2020s. That history shows long-standing well use around Ovid, with many older wells mixed with newer construction.

The most active drillers in these records are Jim Feighny & Sons, listed as Feighny, Jim, with 77 wells; Haggard Drilling Inc., listed as Haggard, Kenneth W, with 35; and Stewart Drilling Co., listed as Stewart, Dennis W., with 31. Treat those names as permit-history context, not a guarantee of present availability or workmanship.

What a new Ovid well may cost to drill and finish

For Ovid’s alluvium and plains sedimentary rock, the drilling model uses a typical rate of $35-$55 per foot. At the local median depth of 64 feet, the drilled hole itself is modeled at about $2,200-$3,500. That is not the complete project price. A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at approximately $8,200-$15,500.

Use the depth range when comparing bids. A property that needs 149 feet or more can cost more than the median-depth example, and an unusual 502-foot well shows that deeper outcomes are possible. Get a written scope identifying casing, grout, development, pump size, tank, electrical work, trenching, water testing, and permit-related work. Confirm what happens if the first hole has inadequate yield or requires additional depth.

Ovid property risks: water quality, septic, and building plans

Four mapped PFAS sampling or contamination sites are located within about 10 miles of Ovid. The records show no historic mine features and no EPA Superfund or cleanup sites in that area. Those facts do not certify a private well as safe. Test the water after a purchase and after any change in land use, with testing selected for the site and the intended household use.

Low yield is not the only concern. Review the well’s construction, pump, storage, static level, and maintenance history. Before building, confirm the separation and layout requirements for the well, septic system, replacement area, drive, and house. Domestic and household wells make up 34% of the records, stock wells 22%, irrigation wells 29%, and monitoring wells 6%, so the nearby well’s permitted use may not match your plans. Check DWR records and current county requirements before relying on an old permit.

A practical Ovid checklist before you buy or build

Start with the exact parcel, not the area median. Pull the Colorado DWR permit and completion records, confirm the permitted use, compare nearby logs in Ovid and toward Julesburg or Sedgwick, and ask for recent water-quality and pump information. If the property has no well, have a local driller review neighboring depths before setting a budget. Fractured-bedrock conditions can be unpredictable, even though this area is described mainly as alluvium and plains sedimentary rock.

For a new build, price the complete water system rather than drilling alone. Include the pump, tank, electrical service, trenching, septic work, access, and testing. If the intended use involves irrigation or other demands beyond the permit, confirm the legal water supply first. Colorado DWR rules, exempt household-use limits, and basin requirements can affect what you may legally pump. In an over-appropriated basin, an augmentation plan may be required.

Well permits by decade near Ovid

What a new well costs in Ovid, 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 (90 ft) would run roughly $9,150–$16,950. 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 Ovid? 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 Ovid 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 Ovid

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