South Fork, Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost

How deep are wells around South Fork?

How much water do wells make near South Fork?

How deep are wells around South Fork?

South Fork wells have a 60-foot median reported depth. The middle half of wells falls between 44 and 202 feet, so a bid near the shallow end may fit some sites while another lot can require substantially more drilling. The 90th-percentile depth is 400 feet, and the deepest record reaches 1,600 feet.

About 63% of wells are under 100 feet, while 20% are 100 to 300 feet. Another 14% fall between 300 and 600 feet, and 3% are deeper than 600 feet. For a buyer, the nearby well records are more useful than a countywide rule. Ground conditions, exact location, and the aquifer encountered can change the depth quickly, particularly where fractured bedrock is involved.

What water yield can a South Fork well make?

Reported well yields are generally favorable, but the records are incomplete: 549 wells report a pump yield. The median reported yield is 13.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 10.0 and 15.0 gallons per minute. About 46% of reported wells produce 15 or more gallons per minute, and 45% produce between 5 and 15 gallons per minute.

Low-yield wells still occur. The records show 7% between 1 and 5 gallons per minute and 2% under 1 gallon per minute. A result under 1 gallon per minute can limit household recovery and storage needs, even if the well is usable. Ask for the well test, production rate, pump setting, and storage arrangement rather than relying only on a neighbor's result.

What does the water table show near South Fork?

Static water level means the depth from the ground surface to the water when the well is not actively pumping. Among 159 records that report this measurement, the median is 30 feet, with the middle half between 12 and 86 feet. That is useful for estimating pumping conditions, but it is not the same as well depth or guaranteed drawdown during use.

The decade medians do not show a clear long-term decline in these records. Measurements were 28 feet below ground surface in the 2000s, 26 feet in the 2010s, and 30 feet in the 2020s. Those figures come from different wells and measurement dates, so they should not replace a current measurement at the property under contract.

South Fork permit history and local drillers

Colorado DWR records list 1,952 permitted wells within 5 miles of South Fork, with 1,391 recorded as constructed. Permit activity was strongest in the 1990s, with 461 permits, followed by 426 in the 2000s. The records include 180 permits in the 2020s, and the newest permit year is 2026.

The most active drillers in this local record are Valley Pump Company (Self, Clinton L.), with 373 wells; American Drilling Service (Dewberry, Bradford W.), with 239; and Irrigation Engineering & Supp. (Burk, Coy), with 107. These names help identify local history, but they do not guarantee availability, current licensing status, or suitability for a new site.

What does a new well cost near South Fork?

The cost model for South Fork assumes mixed sedimentary and alluvial ground. A typical drilling rate is $50 to $75 per foot. At the 60-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $3,000 to $4,500.

A finished well is more than the drilled hole. Including the pump, tank, trenching, and electrical, the model estimates about $9,000 to $16,500 at the median depth. A deeper hole, difficult access, casing or grout requirements, and site-specific electrical or trenching work can move the actual bid. Get the estimate in writing and confirm which items are included, especially pump equipment, testing, permits, and connection to the house.

South Fork risks to check before building

Yield is the main uncertainty shown in the records. Most reported wells produce at least 5 gallons per minute, but 2% are under 1 gallon per minute and 7% are between 1 and 5 gallons per minute. Dry holes and poor production are possible, particularly where a site depends on a narrow fracture rather than a consistent water-bearing layer. A driller cannot promise that one nearby result will repeat on your lot.

There are 2 mapped PFAS sampling or contamination sites within about 10 miles. No historic mine features and no EPA Superfund or cleanup sites are mapped in that area. Test existing water before purchase and plan for a new-well water test after construction. Confirm septic setbacks, replacement-area needs, access for drilling equipment, and the legal well use with Colorado DWR before finalizing a building plan.

Buying or building on a South Fork lot

Start by pulling the DWR permit and construction records for the property and nearby wells. Compare reported depths, yields, static levels, aquifer names, and completion details, giving extra attention to Alpine, Gerrard, and the area immediately around the lot. A cluster of shallow wells can support a different expectation than an isolated deep or fractured-bedrock well.

Most local permits are for domestic or household use, but the allowed use of a particular permit controls what you can do. Exempt household-use wells are subject to Colorado rules, including the 35-gallon-per-minute pumping limit. In an over-appropriated basin, an augmentation plan may be required for some uses. Before closing, have a qualified well professional review the records, test the existing water, inspect the pump system, and price access, septic, and trenching together with the house site.

Well permits by decade near South Fork

What a new well costs in South Fork, 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 (202 ft) would run roughly $16,100–$27,150. 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 South Fork? 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 South Fork 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 South Fork

Keep researching

More in Rio Grande County

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

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