What Pierce, Colorado Wells Are Really Like

How deep are wells around Pierce?

How much water do wells make near Pierce?

Pierce well depths vary more than the median suggests

The median reported well depth near Pierce is 51 feet. The middle half runs from 37 to 365 feet, which is a wide spread for a buyer trying to estimate a drilling bid. Fifty-eight percent of wells are under 100 feet, while 10% are 100 to 300 feet, 21% are 300 to 600 feet, and 11% exceed 600 feet. The deepest record reaches 900 feet.

That distribution says a shallow well is common here, but it should not be assumed. Plains sediments can change over short distances, and permits also name fractured-bedrock aquifers, where water production is less predictable. Ask a driller to review nearby logs and give a written estimate that explains what happens if the hole must go deeper.

Local yields are generally useful, but test the actual well

Among Pierce-area records that report a pump yield, the median is 11.0 gallons per minute and the middle half is 10.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute. Sixty-three percent report 5 to 15 gallons per minute, and 36% report more than 15 gallons per minute. No reported wells fall under 1 gallon per minute, while 2% fall in the 1 to 5 gallon range.

This is a stronger production pattern than many buyers expect, but it is not a promise for an unbuilt well. Yield records cover only 308 wells. A pump test, storage tank, pressure system, and household demand review matter more than the area median. Confirm the permit’s allowed use: the records are 54% domestic or household, 20% stock, and 28% irrigation.

Water levels are deeper than the earliest records

The median static water level is 80 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 40 to 146 feet. That depth affects pump selection, electrical planning, and the cost of getting water from the well into the house. A well that produces 11.0 gallons per minute can still need a different pump setup than a shallow well with a much higher water level.

The decade figures show 20 feet below surface in the 1960s, 105 feet in the 2010s, and 80 feet in the 2020s. That points to deeper water levels than the earliest measurements, although the records are not a controlled monitoring series and only 139 wells report static water level. Treat the trend as a reason to check current neighbors, not as a prediction for one lot.

Pierce has a long permit history and several repeat drillers

Permit activity runs from the 1950s through 2026. The records show 58 permits in the 1950s, 96 in the 1960s, 84 in the 1970s, 55 in the 1980s, 110 in the 1990s, 201 in the 2000s, 119 in the 2010s, and 148 in the 2020s. That history gives buyers a substantial set of nearby logs to compare.

The most active names in these records are Lesh Drilling Inc. (Lesh Jr., Ed), with 176 wells; Crandall Drilling & Pump Service (Crandall Jr., Howard H.), with 93; and Ingram Drilling Inc. (Ingram, Stephen E.), with 57. A permit is not the same as a completed, productive well, so verify construction, pump testing, and current condition separately.

A median-depth Pierce well is only the starting cost

For alluvium and plains sedimentary rock, the local drilling model uses $35 to $55 per foot. At the 51-foot median depth, that puts the drilled hole at about $1,800 to $2,800. This is not the price of a working water system. A finished well with pump, tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at about $7,800 to $14,800 at that depth.

The middle-half depth range of 37 to 365 feet is the important budgeting warning. A bid based only on 51 feet may not fit a parcel where nearby wells are deeper. Get separate prices for drilling, casing and grout, pump equipment, trenching, electrical, water testing, and any difficult access. A deeper hole, different aquifer, or failed first attempt can move the final cost outside the basic estimate.

Check water quality, septic space, and failed-well risk

Mapped environmental data deserve attention before closing. Within about 10 miles, the records show 146 PFAS sampling or contamination sites and 2 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. That does not establish contamination at a particular property, but it is enough reason to test the existing well and ask for site-specific environmental information. Do not rely on appearance, taste, or a seller’s informal statement that the water is safe.

Also investigate low production, abandoned holes, and the condition of casing, grout, pump, and pressure equipment. Septic location and replacement area must work with the well location and the building plan. Confirm setbacks, access for a rig, electrical routing, and the permit’s allowed use with Colorado DWR and the county before buying or starting construction.

Use neighboring logs before you buy or build

For a Pierce lot, start by collecting the closest DWR permits and construction records, then compare depth, aquifer name, water level, yield, and use. Pay particular attention when nearby records range from shallow wells to the 600-plus-foot group. A driller can use those logs to refine the expected hole, but only a site investigation and completed well can establish the result.

If the property is in or affected by an over-appropriated basin, confirm the water-rights position and any augmentation requirement before designing the home. Exempt household-use wells have specific limits, including the 35-gallon-per-minute pumping limit, and a domestic permit is not automatically suitable for irrigation or other uses. Budget for a pump test and laboratory water testing before removing inspection or financing protections.

Well permits by decade near Pierce

What a new well costs in Pierce, 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 (365 ft) would run roughly $18,775–$32,075. 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 Pierce? 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 Pierce 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 Pierce

Keep researching

More in Weld County

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

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