Palmer Lake Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost

How deep are wells around Palmer Lake?

How much water do wells make near Palmer Lake?

Palmer Lake well depth depends on the formation

The median reported well depth near Palmer Lake is 340 feet. The middle half runs from 250 to 500 feet, so a bid near the median is not unusual, but nearby wells can differ substantially. The 90th percentile is 620 feet, and the deepest well in the records reaches 2,500 feet.

Depth records show that 51% of wells fall between 300 and 600 feet. Another 25% are between 100 and 300 feet, while 13% reach 600 feet or more. The local geology includes Denver Basin sedimentary aquifers and unnamed fractured-bedrock wells. That combination is why a driller should review neighboring logs before pricing a new hole, rather than assuming every lot will match the closest address.

What Palmer Lake wells usually produce

Among wells reporting a pump yield, the median is 10.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 8.0 and 12.0 gallons per minute. The distribution is fairly concentrated: 83% report between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, and 14% report more than 15 gallons per minute.

Only 3% report between 1 and 5 gallons per minute, and 0% are reported below 1 gallon per minute. That is encouraging for ordinary household planning, but yield is not the same as storage or guaranteed long-term supply. Ask for the well test, pump information, permit conditions, and any production records. A buyer should also confirm the intended household use is allowed by the DWR permit.

Water levels around Palmer Lake and the recorded trend

The median static water level is 120 feet below ground surface. The middle half ranges from 80 to 221 feet, which affects pump setting, electrical planning, and the amount of casing or pumping equipment a contractor may recommend.

The decade record does not show a simple continuing decline. Median depth to water was 165 feet in the 1980s and 162 feet in the 1990s, then 115 feet in the 2010s and 122 feet in the 2020s. Measurements come from only 252 records, so treat the series as local historical context, not a guarantee for a specific lot. A current static-level measurement and neighboring well data are more useful when evaluating a property.

Palmer Lake permit history and local drillers

Permit activity increased from the 1970s through the 1990s, with 390 permits in the 1970s, 566 in the 1980s, and 630 in the 1990s. The records show 390 permits in the 2000s, 354 in the 2010s, and 184 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2026.

Fletcher Drilling, listed as Fletcher, Thomas, appears most often with 748 records. Kunau Drilling LLC, listed as Kunau, Timothy R., appears on 236, and Paul Fletcher & Sons Inc, also listed with Fletcher, Thomas, appears on 227. These are record counts, not endorsements. Confirm current licensing, availability, scope of work, and who will perform the test and completion work before relying on any contractor name.

What a new Palmer Lake well may cost

The local cost model uses a drilling rate of $50-$70 per foot in Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock. At the 340-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $17,000-$23,800.

A finished system, including the pump, tank, trenching, and electrical, is modeled at about $23,000-$35,800. That range is for early budgeting, not a fixed proposal. A deeper hole, difficult access, casing or grout requirements, water-quality work, or changes to the pump system can alter the final price. Ask every bidder to separate drilling, casing, grout, development, testing, pump equipment, trenching, electrical, and permit-related work so competing bids can be compared accurately.

Risks to check before building near Palmer Lake

Low yield is not the main pattern in the reported records, but a dry hole or disappointing production remains a site-specific risk. Fractured-bedrock sections can be unpredictable, and the aquifer name on a permit does not guarantee the same result on an adjacent lot. Have a driller review nearby logs and confirm the proposed well location before buying land.

Environmental screening also deserves attention. The mapped area within about 10 miles includes 19 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 12 historic mine features, and 1 EPA Superfund or cleanup site. These mapped sites do not prove a problem at a particular property. Test existing water for appropriate contaminants, inspect well construction and casing, and keep the well separated from septic and building areas under applicable requirements. Septic design, access, trench routes, and electrical service should be evaluated together with the well.

A practical plan for a Palmer Lake lot

Before closing, obtain the DWR permit, well construction report, pump test, water-quality results, and service history for the property. Compare that information with nearby records in Woodmoor and Monument, and expand the review toward Gleneagle, Larkspur, the Air Force Academy, or Perry Park when the lot is near those areas.

If the parcel has no well, budget from the local depth and finished-system ranges, then get a written site-specific proposal. Confirm the intended use, including household, stock, or irrigation needs, because permit conditions control what an exempt household-use well may provide. For a build, locate the well, septic system, driveway, house, utility trench, and turnaround together. That coordination can prevent an expensive redesign after drilling or excavation begins.

Well permits by decade near Palmer Lake

What a new well costs in Palmer Lake, 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 (500 ft) would run roughly $31,000–$47,000. 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 Palmer Lake? 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 Palmer Lake 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 Palmer Lake

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