What Saguache Well Records Mean for a Rural Property

How deep are wells around Saguache?

How much water do wells make near Saguache?

Saguache well depths and the ground below

The median reported well depth near Saguache is 140 feet. The middle half runs from 80 to 200 feet, while 61% of wells fall between 100 and 300 feet. Another 33% are under 100 feet. That gives a driller a reasonable starting range for a bid, but not a firm promise about a new lot.

Depth varies because the records include unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer wells as well as wells in the Unconfined San Luis Valley and Confined San Luis Valley aquifers. The deepest recorded well is 828 feet, although only 5% are between 300 and 600 feet and 1% exceed 600 feet. A fractured-bedrock setting can change abruptly over a short distance.

How much water Saguache wells produce

Reported pump yields are strong overall: the median is 30.0 gallons per minute, and the middle half spans 14.2 to 950.0 gallons per minute. Seventy-four percent of wells with a reported yield produce 15 or more gallons per minute. Three percent report between 1 and 5 gallons per minute, while none of the reported wells are under 1 gallon per minute.

Use those figures carefully. Only 62 wells report a pump yield, and the records combine domestic, stock and irrigation uses. A household buyer should ask for the well permit, completion report and any pumping or recovery information. A high reported yield from an irrigation well does not automatically describe the dependable supply available to a new household well.

Water levels near Saguache and the measured trend

Among the 35 wells reporting static water level, the median depth to water is 26 feet. The middle half is 12 to 32 feet below the surface. That can reduce the lift required for a pump, but static water level is not the same as the water available while pumping.

The decade figures do not show a simple dropping pattern in this record set. The median measured level was 32 feet below ground in the 2010s and 18 feet in the 2020s, meaning the more recent reported water levels were closer to the surface. The sample is limited, and measurements may come from different wells and conditions. Have a driller check the actual lot rather than treating the series as a guarantee.

Saguache drilling history and local permit records

Permits have been issued around Saguache from the 1950s through the 2020s, with 40 in the 1950s, 10 in the 1960s, 51 in the 1970s, 35 in the 1980s, 39 in the 1990s, 43 in the 2000s, 37 in the 2010s and 36 in the 2020s. The newest permit year in the records is 2025.

The most active names listed are Garner, M A with 18 records, M & G Drilling & Supply (Merrifield, C E) with 17, and Valley Pump Company (Self, Clinton L.) with 16. Those names show local record history, not an endorsement or proof of current availability. Check permits near the parcel, including areas toward Moffat, Center and Crestone, before choosing a contractor.

What a new Saguache well may cost

The cost model for Saguache assumes mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground. A typical drilling rate is $50 to $75 per foot. At the 140-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $7,000 to $10,500.

A finished system is more than the borehole. Including the pump, pressure tank, trenching and electrical, the estimated total is $13,000 to $22,500 at that median depth. A deeper hole, difficult access, casing or grout requirements, and unexpected ground conditions can move the price outside that range. Ask for a written bid that separates drilling from completion and identifies what happens if the hole does not produce an adequate supply.

Checks for contamination, septic and a dry hole

There are three PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 36 historic mine features and three EPA Superfund or cleanup sites mapped within about 10 miles. These locations do not establish contamination at a particular property, but they are a reason to review the parcel, nearby land uses and available water-quality information. Test a private well rather than relying only on regional records.

Low yield is not the only concern. Confirm the well can support the planned home, livestock or irrigation use, and review Colorado DWR permit requirements. An exempt household-use well has a 35-gpm pumping limit. In an over-appropriated basin, an augmentation plan may be needed. Septic setbacks, building access, trench routes and the possibility of a dry hole should be evaluated before construction begins.

Well permits by decade near Saguache

What a new well costs in Saguache, 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 (200 ft) would run roughly $16,000–$27,000. 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 Saguache? 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 Saguache 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 Saguache

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More in Saguache County

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

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