Rifle, Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost Guide

How deep are wells around Rifle?

How much water do wells make near Rifle?

Rifle well depth depends on the local ground

Rifle’s reported well depths are concentrated near the shallow end. Fifty-eight percent of the wells with depth records are under 100 feet, while 38% fall between 100 and 300 feet. The middle half of the dataset extends from 28 to 160 feet, and the deepest recorded well reaches 750 feet.

For a drilling bid, the 80-foot median is a useful starting point, not a promise. A driller may need to go beyond the local middle range if the target formation is tight, fractured, or unproductive. The records identify 2,125 wells with unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers, compared with only 10 alluvial wells and 16 Wasatch wells. That mix helps explain why neighboring lots can differ.

How much water Rifle wells produce

Reported yields are generally workable for household use, with a median of 13.0 gallons per minute and a middle half from 5.0 to 15.0 gallons per minute. Forty-five percent of the wells reporting yield make more than 15 gallons per minute, while 38% fall between 5 and 15.

Low production is present but not dominant: 16% report between 1 and 5 gallons per minute, and 2% report under 1 gallon per minute. Those figures describe reported pump tests, not a guarantee for an unbuilt well. Ask for the neighboring permit numbers, completion reports, pump test details, storage capacity, and any history of seasonal shortage before relying on a yield estimate.

Rifle water levels do not show a straight decline

Where static water levels were recorded, the median depth to water is 30 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 14 to 54 feet. That is useful for estimating pumping conditions and planning a well, but it is not the same as a guaranteed production level.

The decade pattern is mixed rather than a simple dropping water table. Median depth to water was 30 feet in the 1990s, 24 feet in the 2000s, 17 feet in the 2010s, and 36 feet in the 2020s. The recent decade is deeper than the prior periods, but only 100 wells report static water levels. Treat this as a limited local signal, not a basin-wide trend or a substitute for checking current neighboring wells.

Rifle’s drilling history and active names

Rifle has a substantial permit history. The records include 2,166 permitted wells, with 1,118 recorded as constructed and 1,376 reporting a total depth. Permitting was most active in the 1990s and 2000s, followed by fewer permits in the 2010s and 2020s. The newest permit year in this dataset is 2025.

Among the most frequently listed drillers are Shelton Drilling Corporation, also shown as Shelton, Wayne, with 535 records; Authorized, shown as Pe, Pg, with 211; and Stoneman Drilling, shown as Stoneman, Frank, with 93. Those names describe the permit record, not a recommendation. Confirm current licensing, insurance, references, and who will perform the work before hiring.

What a Rifle well may cost to drill

The local cost model uses mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground. A typical drilling rate is $50 to $75 per foot. At the 80-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $4,000 to $6,000 before the rest of the system is installed.

A finished well including the pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at about $10,000 to $18,000. A bid can move outside that range if the hole is deeper, access is difficult, casing or grout requirements change, or the site needs more excavation. Ask whether the quote includes water testing, permitting support, casing, grout, pump sizing, storage, trenching, electrical work, and an allowance for unsuccessful drilling.

Rifle risks beyond depth and yield

Water quality deserves its own investigation. Within about 10 miles of Rifle, the map includes 633 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 42 historic mine features, and 13 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These mapped sites do not prove contamination at a specific property, but they are strong reasons to review environmental records and test the well water before purchase.

Low-yield and dry-hole risk remains possible, especially where permits identify fractured bedrock. Also check the location of septic components, reserve areas, driveways, and the proposed building envelope. A well that works for an existing house may not support additional homes, irrigation, or livestock. Confirm the DWR permit and allowed use; domestic and household permits make up 48% of the records, while monitoring wells account for 37%.

Buying or building near Rifle

Start with the exact parcel, then pull permits and completion records for the closest wells rather than relying only on the area median. Compare depths, reported yields, static levels, aquifer descriptions, construction details, and well uses. Nearby Silt, New Castle, Battlement Mesa, Parachute, Chacra, and Glenwood Springs can provide regional context, but the closest comparable wells matter most.

Before closing, make the seller document the well, pump, pressure system, water quality, and septic approval. For a vacant lot, obtain a driller’s access and depth estimate, verify the legal water use, and lay out the well and septic system together. Colorado DWR permits control important details, and an augmentation plan may be needed in an over-appropriated basin. Do not assume a good nearby yield transfers to your lot.

Well permits by decade near Rifle

What a new well costs in Rifle, 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 (160 ft) would run roughly $14,000–$24,000. 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 Rifle? 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 Rifle 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 Rifle

Keep researching

More in Garfield County

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

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