Red Fe Lks, Colorado Well and Drilling Guide

How deep are wells around Red Fe Lks?

How much water do wells make near Red Fe Lks?

How deep are wells around Red Fe Lks?

The median reported well depth near Red Fe Lks is 266 feet. The middle half runs from 140 to 440 feet, so a drilling proposal near the median is not unusual, but a property at either end of that range needs a different budget conversation. The 90th percentile is 600 feet, and the deepest well in the record reaches 901 feet.

Depths reflect fractured mountain bedrock, identified on most permits as unnamed fractured-bedrock aquifer. Granite, gneiss, and related fractured rock can produce water through specific fractures rather than through a uniform underground layer. That is why nearby wells can differ substantially. A driller should review neighboring completions, access, casing and grout requirements, and the expected target depth before giving a firm price.

What water yield can a Red Fe Lks well make?

The median reported pump yield is 4.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 3.0 and 6.0 gallons per minute. Most reported wells fall in the 1-to-5-gallon-per-minute range, while 39% report 5 to 15 gallons per minute. Only 3% report more than 15 gallons per minute, and 7% report under 1 gallon per minute.

For a buyer, the median is a planning point, not a guarantee. A 4.0-gallon-per-minute well can serve a typical household when storage and the pressure system are designed correctly, but low production may require a larger tank and careful peak-use planning. Ask for the pumping test, recovery information, well construction report, and permit conditions. A domestic exempt well is subject to Colorado’s 35-gallon-per-minute pumping limit.

What does the water table show near Red Fe Lks?

Among the 111 wells reporting a static water level, the median depth to water is 100 feet, with the middle half from 34 to 100 feet below the ground surface. That is useful for estimating pump setting and trench planning, but the measurement is not the same as a guaranteed pumping level. Water levels can change with season, recharge, pumping, and local geology.

The decade figures show a deeper reported median in the 2010s and 2020s than in the 1980s: 25 feet below surface in the 1980s, compared with 100 feet in both the 2010s and 2020s. This suggests lower measured water levels in the later records, but the small reporting set and changing well locations make it poor evidence of a uniform regional decline. Have a driller evaluate the specific parcel.

Who has drilled wells near Red Fe Lks?

The permit history is long, with records beginning in the 1950s and the newest permit year being 2025. The largest period of activity appears in the 1970s through the 2000s, while permits continue in the 2010s and 2020s. Of 1,783 wells in the Colorado DWR records, 1,342 are recorded as constructed, 1,390 report total depth, and 812 report pump yield.

The most active drillers named in these records are Ingram Drilling Inc. (Ingram, Stephen E.), Hersh & Son Well Drilling Inc. (Hersh, Harry), and Lesh Drilling Inc. (Lesh Jr., Ed). These records identify historical permit activity, not a recommendation or a promise of current availability. Before hiring, verify licensing, insurance, references, scheduling, access requirements, and exactly what the bid includes.

What does a new well cost in Red Fe Lks?

In fractured mountain bedrock, a planning rate is $65 to $100 per foot. At the local median depth of 266 feet, the drilled hole is estimated at $17,300 to $26,600. A finished system with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at $23,300 to $38,600.

Those figures are budgeting ranges, not a guaranteed contract price. The final number can move with access, casing and grout, drilling conditions, water production, pump depth, trench length, electrical work, and whether the hole must be deepened. Get the driller to separate footage, casing, testing, pump equipment, storage, trenching, and electrical in writing. A low bid that excludes site work may not be the lower completed cost.

Risks to check before building or buying

Low yield and dry-hole risk deserve special attention in fractured granite and gneiss. The records include 7% of reported yields under 1 gallon per minute, and reported depths range to 901 feet. Ask what happens if drilling reaches the contract limit without an adequate supply, and confirm the property’s water right or exempt-well status with Colorado DWR.

Water quality also needs independent testing. Mapped environmental information within about 10 miles includes 2 PFAS sampling or contamination sites and 12 historic mine features, with 0 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Those map results do not determine a parcel’s water quality. Test the well for relevant contaminants, especially if the property is near a mine feature or a PFAS site. Confirm septic setbacks, soil suitability, driveway access, building envelope, and space for a replacement septic system before closing.

A practical plan for a Red Fe Lks lot

Start with the neighboring-well review. Compare depths, reported yields, static levels, aquifer descriptions, construction details, and permit uses around the parcel, including records associated with Red Feather Lakes and the other nearby areas. Treat the comparison as a range, not as a guarantee: fractured-bedrock wells can change quickly over short distances.

For a purchase, make the contract contingent on reviewing the well permit, construction report, pump test, water-quality results, and legal water use. For a new build, have the driller and septic designer coordinate the well location, access route, electrical trench, storage equipment, and septic reserve area before excavation. Budget around the local cost range, then carry room for deeper drilling or site complications. That approach is more reliable than using a single nearby well as the estimate.

Well permits by decade near Red Fe Lks

What a new well costs in Red Fe Lks, 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 (440 ft) would run roughly $34,600–$56,000. 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 Red Fe Lks? 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 Red Fe Lks 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 Red Fe Lks

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