Private Well Information for Pitkin, Colorado

How deep are wells around Pitkin?

How much water do wells make near Pitkin?

Pitkin well depths reflect shallow mountain groundwater

Among 289 wells reporting total depth, the median is 40 feet. The middle half falls between 30 and 78 feet, while the 90th percentile reaches 190 feet. The depth mix shows why local records matter: 79% are under 100 feet, 16% are 100-300 feet, 4% are 300-600 feet, and 1% are deeper than 600 feet. The deepest recorded well is 690 feet.

For a drilling bid, the 40-foot median is a useful starting point, not a promised target. Fractured granite and gneiss can change quickly over short distances. A nearby shallow well may not predict the depth on your lot, especially if the parcel sits on a different fracture zone or has difficult access.

What Pitkin wells produce for household use

Only 99 permitted wells report a pump yield, so the yield statistics do not describe every constructed well. In that reporting group, the median is 15.0 gallons per minute and the middle half is 10.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute. Seventy-three percent report more than 15 gallons per minute, 22% report 5-15 gallons per minute, and 5% report 1-5 gallons per minute. None report under 1 gallon per minute.

This is a favorable local production record, but it is not a guarantee of a new well's performance. A driller should explain the proposed test, recovery, pump setting, storage, and any seasonal limitations. Most permits are for domestic or household use, and the 35-gallon-per-minute exempt-well pumping limit still applies where an exempt well is authorized.

Pitkin water levels are shallow, but the trend is limited

Just 26 wells in the records report a static water level, so the water-level sample is small. Those wells have a median depth to water of 12 feet, with the middle half from 6 to 22 feet. That suggests groundwater is often relatively shallow in the reported locations, but it should not be treated as a parcel-specific measurement.

The permit history does not provide enough reported static levels to establish a reliable decline or rise by decade. Ask for a current measurement from any existing well and compare it with the well permit and construction report. A shallow water level can reduce pumping lift, but it also makes proper casing, grout, surface drainage, and sanitary protection important.

Who has drilled near Pitkin, and how old are the records

The records include 381 permitted wells within 5 miles of Pitkin, with 291 recorded as constructed and 289 reporting a total depth. Bob Williams Drilling Co., listed as Williams, Robert F., appears most often, with 224 records. Williams Drilling Co Inc., listed as Williams, Frank, appears in 11, and Authorized (Pe, Pg) appears in 9.

Permit activity spans several decades: 2 permits in the 1950s, 58 in the 1970s, 63 in the 1980s, 62 in the 1990s, 79 in the 2000s, 36 in the 2010s, and 26 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025. Treat older records as useful context, then verify current licensing, insurance, references, and the scope of any new drilling proposal.

A Pitkin well budget starts with the bedrock

Ground in this area is fractured mountain bedrock, including granite and gneiss. The drilling model uses a typical rate of $65-$100 per foot. At the local median depth of 40 feet, the drilled hole alone works out to about $2,600-$4,000.

A finished water system costs more than the hole. Including the pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical work, the modeled total at the median depth is about $8,600-$16,000. A deeper hole, difficult access, additional casing or grout, longer utility runs, and site constraints can change the bid. Ask each driller to separate drilling, casing, grout, testing, pump equipment, trenching, and electrical so competing proposals can be compared.

Checks for contamination, low yield, and building conflicts

Local environmental review deserves attention. Mapped sites within about 10 miles include 4 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 865 historic mine features, and 3 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These mapped features do not prove that a particular well is contaminated, but they are a reason to review land history, nearby mine workings, and water-quality testing before closing.

Low yield and dry holes remain possible in fractured bedrock even though the reported yield records are generally strong. Confirm the well location, casing and grout, pump test results, and laboratory water tests. Also keep the well, septic system, access drive, and building envelope coordinated. A good water source does not solve an unsuitable septic or building site.

Buying or building near Pitkin: use the records before committing

Start with the well permits around the specific parcel, not only the area median. Compare depths, reported yields, static levels, construction details, and the stated use. Nearby Garfield, Maysville, Almont, Gunnison, Poncha Springs, and Buena Vista can provide broader regional context, but the most useful comparisons are the closest wells in similar ground.

For an existing home, make the sale contingent on a well inspection, production test, water-quality testing, and review of the permit and completion report. For vacant land, have a Colorado driller assess access and a qualified septic professional review the lot before you finalize a building plan. If the property is in an over-appropriated basin, ask the Colorado Division of Water Resources whether an augmentation plan or other water-right requirement applies.

Well permits by decade near Pitkin

What a new well costs in Pitkin, 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 (78 ft) would run roughly $11,070–$19,800. 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 Pitkin? 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 Pitkin 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 Pitkin

Keep researching

More in Gunnison County

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

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