Colorado Well Finder › Wells by county › Routt County › Phippsburg
Buying land near Phippsburg means evaluating more than whether a permit exists. Records within 5 miles show 276 permitted wells, but only 37 report a pump yield and 39 report a static water level. That makes the local data useful for setting expectations, not a guarantee for one parcel.
The area is mountain ground, with most permits identifying fractured bedrock rather than a named basin aquifer. Neighboring wells near Oak Creek and Yampa can help frame a decision, but your lot still needs its own water and septic review.
Figures are computed from Colorado Division of Water Resources permit records for permitted wells within 5 miles of Phippsburg. Not every permit reports every field; each statistic uses the wells that report it.
| Depth statistic | Feet |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 20 |
| Median | 89 |
| 75th percentile | 272 |
| 90th percentile | 440 |
| Deepest on record | 880 |
| Aquifer named on permits | Wells |
|---|---|
| unnamed / fractured-bedrock aquifer | 235 |
| Alluvial | 38 |
| Mesa Verde | 1 |
| Yield statistic | gpm |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 5.0 |
| Median | 6.0 |
| 75th percentile | 10.0 |
| Median depth to water | 9 ft |
| Median water level by decade | Depth to water |
|---|---|
| 2010s | 9 ft |
| 2020s | 9 ft |
The median reported well depth near Phippsburg is 89 feet. The middle half runs from 20 to 272 feet, so a driller’s bid based only on the median can be misleading. Half of the recorded wells fall outside that range, and the deepest record reaches 880 feet.
Depths vary because 235 permits identify unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers, while 38 identify alluvial water and one identifies the Mesa Verde aquifer. The depth mix shows that 51% of wells are under 100 feet, 24% are 100-300 feet, 19% are 300-600 feet, and 5% are 600 feet or deeper. Ask for a written price per foot and a clear treatment of casing, grout, and drilling beyond the estimate.
Only 37 wells in the records report a pump yield, so the yield statistics are a limited sample. Among those reports, the median is 6.0 gallons per minute and the middle half is 5.0-10.0 gallons per minute. That is a reasonable planning range for many household systems, but it is not a promise for a new hole.
The recorded mix is 68% at 5-15 gallons per minute, 22% at 1-5 gallons per minute, 8% above 15 gallons per minute, and 3% under 1 gallon per minute. A low-yield well can still work with storage and careful demand management. Ask whether the test was a short pump test or a longer production test, and budget for a tank if the result is modest.
Static water level means the depth from the ground surface down to standing water when the well is not being pumped. The local median is 9 feet, with the middle half from 7 to 90 feet. Those numbers describe reported wells, not necessarily the water level at an unbuilt lot.
The decade comparison does not show a declining trend in this dataset: the median was 9 feet below surface in the 2010s and 9 feet in the 2020s. Only 39 wells report a static water level, so treat this as a broad local signal rather than a site-specific guarantee. A driller should measure the completed well, and a buyer should ask how seasonal conditions and pumping affected the reading.
Permit history is active but uneven. Records show 1 permit in the 1960s, 26 in the 1970s, 16 in the 1980s, 76 in the 1990s, 34 in the 2000s, 19 in the 2010s, and 61 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025.
The most frequently listed drillers are Authorized (Pe, Pg), with 43 records; Arrow Drilling (Berglund, Peter R.), with 26; and Aztec Drilling Company (Branstetter, Keith), with 17. These counts describe recorded permits, not endorsements or current availability. Before relying on an old well, confirm its permit status, construction report, pump information, and whether its permitted use matches the home or project you plan.
The local cost model assumes fractured mountain bedrock such as granite and gneiss. At the 89-foot median depth, drilling alone is modeled at about $5,800-$8,900, using a typical rate of $65-$100 per foot. That is the hole, not the complete water system.
A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at about $11,800-$20,900 at the median depth. A deeper hole can move well beyond that range, while access, casing, grout, difficult rock, and electrical distance can change the bid. Request separate line items for drilling, casing and grout, pump equipment, storage, trenching, power, testing, and any unsuccessful-hole terms.
Low yield is not the only risk. The mapped area within about 10 miles includes 3 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 27 historic mine features, and 2 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These mapped features do not prove that a particular well is contaminated, but they justify testing the water and checking the parcel’s history before closing.
Fractured bedrock can produce uneven results, including a dry or inadequate hole even when nearby wells are productive. Test for bacteria and the contaminants appropriate to the site, and review construction, casing, and grout records. Confirm that the septic system has room to meet setbacks and replacement-area requirements. Also verify access for a drill rig, water rights and permit conditions, and whether an augmentation plan is needed in an over-appropriated basin.
Before buying, collect the permits and construction reports for nearby wells, then compare depth, aquifer description, yield, and static water level. The records around Phippsburg give a useful starting point: many wells are shallow, but the 20-272-foot middle range and 880-foot maximum show how widely results can vary.
For a buildable lot, get a driller’s access and price opinion before removing the well contingency. Confirm where the well, septic system, driveway, house, and reserve area can fit together. If the intended use is domestic, an exempt household-use well may be relevant, but Colorado rules still control the permitted uses and pumping limit. Have a licensed contractor review the site, and do not treat a nearby 6.0-gallon-per-minute result as a guarantee for your parcel.
| Decade permitted | Wells |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 |
| 1970s | 26 |
| 1980s | 16 |
| 1990s | 76 |
| 2000s | 34 |
| 2010s | 19 |
| 2020s | 61 |
| Most active drillers on record | Wells |
|---|---|
| Authorized (Pe, Pg) | 43 |
| Arrow Drilling (Berglund, Peter R.) | 26 |
| Aztec Drilling Company (Branstetter, Keith) | 17 |
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 (272 ft) would run roughly $23,680–$39,200. See the full Colorado well cost guide.
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.
The numbers above are the area average. Your lot is one point on the map. Search the address to see the real depth, yield and aquifer of each permitted well around it.
Map wells near PhippsburgTri-Lakes Contracting is a licensed Colorado contractor serving Phippsburg and the surrounding mountain communities. The company handles access driveways, site development, new-build septic systems, and custom homes.
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A listing photo can't tell you whether a lot is a dream or a money pit. Two parcels near Phippsburg 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.
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.
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The median reported well depth within 5 miles of Phippsburg is 89 feet. The middle half runs from 20 to 272 feet, while the deepest record is 880 feet. About 51% are under 100 feet, but fractured mountain bedrock can make one lot much different from the next.
The local model uses $65-$100 per foot for fractured granite and gneiss. At the 89-foot median depth, drilling is modeled at $5,800-$8,900. A finished system with pump, tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at $11,800-$20,900. Deeper drilling and difficult access can increase the bid.
Among the 37 local wells that report a pump yield, the median is 6.0 gallons per minute and the middle half is 5.0-10.0 gallons per minute. The sample is limited. Most reported wells, 68%, fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, but a new well can perform differently.
Safety cannot be determined from a permit or a nearby well. The mapped area includes 3 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 27 historic mine features, and 2 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Test the actual well for bacteria and site-appropriate contaminants, and review land and mining history before relying on the water.
The available records do not show a lower median water level by decade. The median static water level was 9 feet below surface in both the 2010s and the 2020s. Only 39 wells report static water levels, so this is a limited regional comparison, not a guarantee about a specific property or season.
All wells in Routt County — county-wide depth, yield and cost figures.
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