Smeltertown, Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost

How deep are wells around Smeltertown?

How much water do wells make near Smeltertown?

How deep are wells around Smeltertown?

Permitted wells within the Smeltertown search area have a median reported depth of 100 feet. The middle half runs from 55 to 174 feet, so many drilling bids should be based on a relatively shallow hole, while still allowing for local variation. The 90th percentile is 283 feet, and the deepest record reaches 790 feet.

The depth mix is nearly split: 46% are under 100 feet, and 45% fall from 100 to 300 feet. Only 9% are between 300 and 600 feet. Most permits identify unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifers, so granite and gneiss fractures, rather than a uniform sand-and-gravel layer, can control the final depth.

What water yield can a Smeltertown well provide?

Reported well yield has a median of 13.0 gpm, with the middle half from 10.0 to 15.0 gpm. That is a useful production range for typical household planning, but the yield on a permit is a tested result from a specific well, not a promise for an unbuilt well. Only 1,323 wells in the records report a pump yield, so the dataset is not complete.

61% of reported wells produce from 5 to 15 gpm, while 35% report more than 15 gpm. Another 4% fall between 1 and 5 gpm, and none are recorded under 1 gpm. A driller should still discuss storage, pump recovery, household demand, and the possibility of a fractured-rock well performing differently from its neighbors.

What does the water table show near Smeltertown?

The median static water level is 46 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 28 to 80 feet. For excavation and pump planning, that means water levels can be relatively close to the surface, but the spread matters when setting casing, locating a pump, and planning trenches.

The decade medians do not show a simple steady decline. Measurements were 72 feet below surface in the 1990s, 40 feet in the 2000s, 51 feet in the 2010s, and 43 feet in the 2020s. These are measurements from different wells and dates, so they should not be treated as a continuous monitoring record. A buyer should obtain the actual static level and pumping information for the closest comparable wells.

Who has drilled wells here, and how active is the record?

Colorado DWR records show a long drilling history around Smeltertown. The most active names are American Drilling Service (Dewberry, Bradford W.) with 805 records, Mccoy Drilling Inc (Dennison, Lynn A.) with 346, and M & M Backhoe Service (Myers, Dale T.) with 262. Those names show who appears often in the permit data; they are not a recommendation or proof of current availability.

Permits were issued across every decade shown, with the largest volume in the 2000s at 645, followed by the 1990s at 590. The newest permit year is 2026. Of 3,059 total records, 2,091 are recorded as constructed, so verify construction status before relying on any individual map point.

What does it cost to drill a well in Smeltertown?

Local cost planning should account for fractured mountain bedrock, described in the drilling model as granite and gneiss. The typical drilling rate is $65-$100 per foot. At the local median depth of 100 feet, the drilled hole works out to about $6,500-$10,000.

A finished well is more than the hole. The local model puts a completed installation, including pump, tank, trenching, and electrical, at about $12,500-$22,000. A bid can change with access, casing and grout requirements, pump capacity, trench length, power work, and whether the well reaches water at the planned depth. Ask for the assumed depth, included equipment, testing, and the handling of a dry or low-yield hole in writing.

Risks to check before buying a Smeltertown lot

Smeltertown has a substantial historic industrial and mining setting. The mapped area contains 12 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 630 historic mine features, and 5 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These mapped locations do not establish contamination on a particular parcel, but they are a reason to order a professional water test and review site history before closing.

Most permits name fractured bedrock, where nearby wells can differ because water follows separate fractures. Check for low-yield or abandoned wells, dry-hole records, well construction, casing, grout, and actual pumping data. Domestic or household use accounts for 84% of the use mix, while stock, irrigation, and monitoring account for 6%, 2%, and 4%. Confirm the permit allows your intended use, and keep the well and septic system separated as required by site design and regulation.

A practical plan for building near Smeltertown

Start with the closest permitted wells, not a countywide average. Compare their depths, reported yields, static levels, aquifer descriptions, construction details, and intended uses. The nearby records around Salida and Poncha Springs can provide context, but a parcel near a mapped mine feature or environmental site still needs its own review.

For a new home, have a Colorado-licensed driller inspect rig access and estimate the likely depth range before you finalize a budget. Confirm the DWR permit path, household-use limits, pump and storage design, electrical route, and septic layout together. In an over-appropriated basin, an augmentation plan may be required for some uses. Do not treat the median 100-foot depth or 13.0 gpm yield as a guarantee; make the purchase contingent on due diligence when the water supply is central to the property.

Well permits by decade near Smeltertown

What a new well costs in Smeltertown, 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 (174 ft) would run roughly $17,310–$29,400. 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 Smeltertown? 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 Smeltertown 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 Smeltertown

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

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