Sawpit, Colorado Well Depths, Yields, and Costs

How deep are wells around Sawpit?

How much water do wells make near Sawpit?

Sawpit well depth depends on fractured mountain rock

The median permitted well near Sawpit is 126 feet deep. The middle half runs from 45 to 300 feet, so a driller bidding a new well needs to allow for a wide range rather than treating the median as a guaranteed target. About 44% of recorded wells are under 100 feet, while 31% fall between 100 and 300 feet.

Deeper drilling is common enough to affect planning: 22% are between 300 and 600 feet, 4% are above 600 feet, and the deepest record reaches 1,200 feet. Most permits name an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer. Granite and gneiss can produce water through fractures, which makes neighboring well depths a useful guide but not a promise.

Water yield near Sawpit is usually workable, not uniform

The reported pump-yield median is 10.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 5.0 and 13.0 gpm. Most reported wells, 60%, produce between 5 and 15 gpm. Another 21% report more than 15 gpm. Those figures suggest that a typical domestic well can be productive, but the spread matters when sizing storage and planning a larger home.

Low-yield records are present but not dominant. 1% report under 1 gpm, and 17% fall between 1 and 5 gpm. Only 151 wells report a pump yield, so the statistics describe the reporting subset. Ask for the well test, production rate, storage setup, and recovery information before assuming a parcel can support household demand.

Sawpit water levels look stable in the available records

Among the 40 wells reporting static water levels, the median depth to water is 54 feet below the surface. The middle half ranges from 23 to 166 feet, a substantial spread for pump sizing and trench planning. A shallow water level does not by itself prove a high-producing well; yield and water level measure different parts of the well's performance.

The decade comparison does not show a meaningful drop in the recorded median. Measurements from the 2010s have a median of 53 feet, compared with 54 feet in the 2020s. That is a limited dataset, not a basin-wide guarantee. Have the seller provide the well construction and water-level records for the exact property, then compare them with nearby permits.

Sawpit permits show long drilling activity and current records

Permit activity near Sawpit extends back to the 1960s, when 2 permits were issued. Activity increased to 56 in the 1970s, 85 in the 1980s, and 187 in the 1990s. The records show 151 permits in the 2000s, 56 in the 2010s, and 39 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025.

The most active named drillers in these records are Valley Drilling Co. (Stoy, Kenneth), with 84 records; Western Drilling Services, LLC (Kuchler, Richard A.), with 75; and Bill Kissner Drilling Inc. (Kissner, Bill F.), with 60. These are permit-record counts, not endorsements or proof of current availability.

What a new Sawpit well may cost to drill

Sawpit's fractured mountain bedrock is the main cost variable. A local planning model uses a drilling rate of $65 to $100 per foot. At the 126-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $8,200 to $12,600. That is only the drilling portion and should not be mistaken for the complete water system.

Including a pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical work, the estimated finished-well range at the median depth is $14,200 to $24,600. A 300-foot well, a difficult access route, deeper casing, or extra site work can change the bid. Get the contractor to state what is included, how failed or dry-hole footage is handled, and whether permitting, testing, casing, grout, and connection work are separate charges.

Risks to check before buying or building near Sawpit

Low yield and dry-hole risk deserve attention because fractured rock does not distribute water evenly. Although only 1% of reported yields are under 1 gpm, another 17% are between 1 and 5 gpm, and the yield dataset covers just 151 wells. A neighboring high-producing well is encouraging, but it cannot guarantee the same fracture system on your lot.

Environmental review also matters. Mapped sites within about 10 miles include 6 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 130 historic mine features, and 1 EPA Superfund or cleanup site. That does not establish contamination at a specific property. Test the existing well, review mine and PFAS information, and confirm septic setbacks, drainfield space, access for drilling equipment, and the building location before closing.

Use nearby permits to plan a Sawpit lot

Start with the exact parcel, then compare its records with wells around Placerville, about 2 miles away, and other nearby areas such as Mountain Village, Telluride, Ophir, Ridgway, and Portland. Look for depth, named aquifer, static water level, yield test, casing, and construction details rather than relying on a single nearby well. DWR permit status and completion records should be part of the purchase file.

For a new build, budget around the local depth and cost ranges while keeping room for deeper fractured rock. Confirm the proposed well location, septic layout, driveway access, electrical route, and storage needs together. An exempt household-use well still has state rules, including the 35 gpm pumping limit. In an over-appropriated basin, confirm whether an augmentation plan is required before depending on the well for the intended use.

Well permits by decade near Sawpit

What a new well costs in Sawpit, 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 (300 ft) would run roughly $25,500–$42,000. 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 Sawpit? 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 Sawpit 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 Sawpit

Keep researching

More in San Miguel County

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

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