Sedgwick County wells: what to expect before you buy

How deep are wells around Sedgwick County?

How much water do wells make near Sedgwick County?

A 100 ft median hides a wide Sedgwick County depth range

Of the 1,492 wells reporting depth, the median is 100 ft and the middle half spans 57-320 ft. For a drilling bid, that means the median is a starting allowance, not a reliable target for every parcel. The 90th-percentile depth is 380 ft.

Local ground includes alluvium and plains sedimentary rock. Permits name the Ogallala for 338 wells and Alluvial for 31; another 1,788 fall in the unnamed / fractured-bedrock category. That broad record label does not establish fractured rock beneath your lot. Ask the driller to compare nearby completion logs, water-bearing intervals and casing requirements before setting a depth allowance.

Strong reported yields, but not a household-well promise

The 302 wells with pump-yield records have a median of 50.0 gpm, with a middle half of 15.0-900.0 gpm. Those figures cover different well uses: irrigation accounts for 34% of county permit records, domestic/household 29% and stock 27%. Do not treat the county yield median as a prediction for a new home well.

No reported yields fall below 1 gpm, while 2% fall in the 1-5 gpm band. That is encouraging within the reporting sample, but it does not rule out poor production or dry holes. For a purchase, request a current pumping and recovery test. Also verify permitted uses; a productive well does not automatically authorize lawn watering, livestock or irrigation.

Water stands at 40 ft in the median record—not everywhere

Static water level is the depth to resting water, not the total drilled depth. Only 112 county wells report it. Their median is 40 ft below ground, and the middle half runs from 18-216 ft. That range matters when evaluating pump placement and lift, although pumping conditions require their own measurements.

Decade medians are 218 ft in the 1970s, 39 ft in the 2010s and 52 ft in the 2020s. The latest median is deeper than the preceding one, but this is not a same-well monitoring series. Different locations, aquifers and reporting samples prevent a defensible countywide claim that the water table is steadily dropping. Look for repeat measurements near the property.

Sedgwick County permit history and recorded drillers

The permit history extends from 142 issuances in the 1950s to a newest permit year of 2025. The 2000s account for 299 permits, followed by 205 in the 2010s and 97 in the 2020s. The latest decade is incomplete, so its smaller count is not a fair measure of a long-term slowdown.

The most active drillers in the records are Jim Feighny & Sons with 184, Wellstone Industries Dba Twiss & Wilson Drilling Inc with 177, and Haggard Drilling Inc. with 158. These are historical record counts, not confirmation of current availability. When requesting bids, ask about experience in your part of the county and the aquifer expected beneath the lot.

Budget beyond the drilled hole near Julesburg, Ovid or Sedgwick

The local cost model uses $35-$55 per foot for drilling in alluvium and plains sedimentary rock. At the 100 ft median depth, the drilled hole is about $3,500-$5,500. A finished well with pump, tank, trenching and electrical is modeled at $9,500-$17,500.

That finished-well range is a planning figure tied to the median depth, not a parcel quote. The 57-320 ft middle-half depth range leaves substantial room for a different drilling bill. Have bidders spell out casing, grout, development, testing and what happens if drilling must continue deeper. Check trench routes, electrical service and rig access before comparing prices; a hole-only quote and a working-water-system quote are not equivalent.

Check water quality and well condition before closing

Within about 10 miles, the mapped environmental inventory lists 5 PFAS sampling/contamination sites and 1 EPA Superfund/cleanup site. Those map entries do not establish contamination in a particular well, but they justify checking site details and choosing testing appropriate to the property. The inventory lists no historic mine features; that does not establish safe drinking water.

Have a qualified laboratory test the well water, including bacteria and nitrate, and discuss PFAS testing based on nearby site information. Inspect the wellhead, casing condition and drainage, and review septic placement. Strong county yield figures cannot substitute for an individual production test, and permit records cannot establish a parcel's dry-hole risk.

Make the lot work before committing to the well

Start with the exact parcel and its DWR permit status, then review neighboring wells around Julesburg, Ovid or Sedgwick. Phillips County is nearby, but crossing a county line is less important than matching local geology, aquifer and intended use. Ask for completion logs rather than relying only on map symbols.

For an existing home, match the permit to the physical well and confirm that its authorized uses fit your plans. For vacant land, confirm permit eligibility with DWR before assuming a household-use well is available; augmentation requirements may affect proposed uses. Lay out the house, septic system, driveway, well and utility routes together. Keep drilling access and future pump-service access open in the site plan.

Well permits by decade near Sedgwick County

What a new well costs in Sedgwick County

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 (320 ft) would run roughly $17,200–$29,600. 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 Sedgwick County? 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 Sedgwick County 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 Sedgwick County

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Towns and areas in Sedgwick County

Neighboring counties