Colorado Well Finder › Wells by county › Summit County
A Summit County well is usually a fractured-bedrock project, not a predictable sand-and-gravel well. The countywide median depth is 120 feet, but the fractures beneath a particular lot determine where usable water turns up.
Colorado DWR records include 8,488 permitted wells across the county, with 4,626 recorded as constructed. Those records give buyers a useful starting point around Blue River, Breckenridge, Silverthorne and Heeney. They are not a promise of depth, production or water quality on the property you are considering.
Figures are computed from Colorado Division of Water Resources permit records for all permitted wells in the county. Not every permit reports every field; each statistic uses the wells that report it.
| Depth statistic | Feet |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 65 |
| Median | 120 |
| 75th percentile | 200 |
| 90th percentile | 287 |
| Deepest on record | 1,202 |
| Aquifer named on permits | Wells |
|---|---|
| unnamed / fractured-bedrock aquifer | 8,282 |
| Alluvial | 88 |
| Unconfined San Luis Valley Aquifer | 17 |
| Yield statistic | gpm |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 7.0 |
| Median | 10.0 |
| 75th percentile | 13.3 |
| Median depth to water | 60 ft |
| Median water level by decade | Depth to water |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 38 ft |
| 1970s | 40 ft |
| 1980s | 50 ft |
| 1990s | 70 ft |
| 2000s | 60 ft |
| 2010s | 60 ft |
| 2020s | 55 ft |
Among the 5,304 wells reporting depth, the median is 120 feet and the middle half runs 65–200 feet. That is a useful estimating range: a bid based only on the median can miss substantially deeper drilling, even without an unusual hole. Ask for a per-foot price and a clear process for authorizing additional depth.
Permits overwhelmingly identify an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer. In mountain granite and gneiss, water moves through fractures, so nearby wells can finish at different depths. Countywide, 40% are under 100 feet, while 51% fall in the 100–300-foot band. The 90th-percentile depth is 287 feet. Compare records close to your lot in Keystone or Montezuma rather than treating the county median as a drilling target.
The 2,464 wells with reported pump yields have a 10.0 gpm median, with the middle half between 7.0 and 13.3 gpm. That generally supports ordinary household demand, but a reported drilling yield is not a guarantee of sustained production during a long pumping cycle or a dry period.
The records place 66% in the 5–15 gpm band and 10% in the 1–5 gpm band. A buyer in that lower band should have a contractor evaluate recovery and storage before assuming the well can cover simultaneous household uses. The reported share under 1 gpm is 0%; that does not establish that every permitted site produces water. Request a current pumping and recovery test for an existing home.
Static water level is where water rests in the well when it is not being pumped—not the bottom of the drilled hole. Summit County’s 646 reported measurements have a 60-foot median depth to water, with the middle half at 29–100 feet below ground.
Decade medians deepen from 38 feet in the 1960s to 70 feet in the 1990s, then become shallower: 60 feet in the 2000s and 2010s, and 55 feet in the 2020s. This is not a steady downward trend. These are measurements from different wells and settings, not a repeated survey of the same wells. For a purchase near Frisco or Dillon, the property’s own measurement history and pumping response matter more than the county sequence.
The busiest listed permit decade was the 1990s, with 2,131 permits, followed by 1,673 in the 2000s. Records list 828 in the 2010s and 653 in the 2020s, with the newest permit dated 2026. The current decade is incomplete, so those totals should not be read as directly comparable measures of demand.
Golden Eagle Drilling Corporation (Shelton, Joe Wayne) leads the listed drillers with 1,450 records, followed by Buena Vista Drilling (Shelton, William L) with 1,043 and Arrow Drilling Co. (Berglund, Paul R.) with 662. These are historical record counts, not confirmation of current availability. Domestic/household use accounts for 80% of the permit mix; monitoring accounts for 12%. A permit record alone does not establish a completed, usable household well.
The supplied mountain-bedrock cost model uses $65–$100 per foot. At the 120-foot median depth, that puts the drilled hole at about $7,800–$12,000. A finished well with pump, tank, trenching and electrical is modeled at $13,800–$24,000. Treat those as planning figures, not a parcel-specific quote.
The 65–200-foot middle depth range explains why contractors need room in the estimate for actual drilling conditions. Ask what the proposal includes for casing, grout, testing and completion, and what happens if usable fractures are not encountered at the anticipated depth. On a mountain lot around Blue River or Copper Mountain, rig access, the trench route and the relationship between the well and house also need a site review before the budget is settled.
The mapped environmental inventory within about 10 miles includes 16 PFAS sampling/contamination sites, 2,178 historic mine features and 22 EPA Superfund/cleanup sites. Those counts flag reasons to investigate; they do not show that a particular Summit County well is contaminated. Sampling sites are not automatically confirmed contamination sources.
Have a qualified laboratory test the property’s water and use nearby site history to decide whether additional metals or PFAS testing is appropriate. Inspect the wellhead, casing and surface drainage, too. Fractured bedrock can leave a new hole dry or low-yielding despite productive neighbors. Before placing a home or septic system, confirm required separations and reserve workable locations for the well, septic treatment area and drilling access.
Start with the actual DWR permit, then match it to the well location, construction report and available pump records. Check neighboring wells on comparable terrain, not just the nearest map markers. A valley-bottom record may tell you little about a hillside building site.
For an existing home, obtain current water-quality results and a pumping assessment before closing. For vacant land, have the driller and site contractor review access, the proposed house location and septic feasibility together. Confirm that the permit allows your intended uses; an exempt household-use well does not automatically authorize outdoor watering. Where an augmentation plan is required, resolve that issue before treating the parcel as ready to build.
| Decade permitted | Wells |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 14 |
| 1960s | 370 |
| 1970s | 854 |
| 1980s | 980 |
| 1990s | 2,131 |
| 2000s | 1,673 |
| 2010s | 828 |
| 2020s | 653 |
| Most active drillers on record | Wells |
|---|---|
| Golden Eagle Drilling Corporation (Shelton, Joe Wayne) | 1,450 |
| Buena Vista Drilling (Shelton, William L) | 1,043 |
| Arrow Drilling Co. (Berglund, Paul R.) | 662 |
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 $19,000–$32,000. See the full Colorado well cost guide.
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.
The numbers above are the area average. Your lot is one point on the map. Search the address to see the real depth, yield and aquifer of each permitted well around it.
Map wells near Summit CountyPlanning a well-served home in Summit County means coordinating mountain access with the house and septic layout. Tri-Lakes Contracting is a licensed Colorado contractor for access driveways, site development, new-build septic systems and custom homes.
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A listing photo can't tell you whether a lot is a dream or a money pit. Two parcels near Summit 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.
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.
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Summit County wells reporting depth have a median of 120 feet, and the middle half are 65–200 feet deep. The 90th-percentile depth is 287 feet. Fractured mountain bedrock makes individual results variable, so use nearby construction records and a driller’s site review rather than assuming your well will stop at the median.
The supplied cost model uses $65–$100 per foot for fractured granite and gneiss. At the county’s 120-foot median depth, the drilled hole is about $7,800–$12,000. A finished well with pump, tank, trenching and electrical is about $13,800–$24,000. Actual depth, access and the contractor’s included scope can change the quote.
Reported pump yields have a 10.0 gpm median, with the middle half at 7.0–13.3 gpm. The records put 10% in the 1–5 gpm band. Those lower-producing wells deserve particular attention to recovery and storage. Before buying, request a current pumping test rather than relying solely on the yield reported when the well was drilled.
Safety has to be established by testing the individual well. The nearby mapped inventory includes 16 PFAS sampling/contamination sites, 2,178 historic mine features and 22 EPA Superfund/cleanup sites within about 10 miles. Those records do not prove contamination at your property, but they warrant reviewing local site history and choosing appropriate laboratory tests.
The available decade medians do not show a steady decline. Median depth to water increased from 38 feet in the 1960s to 70 feet in the 1990s, then measured 55 feet in the 2020s. These are different groups of wells, not continuous monitoring of the same locations. Check the property’s own water-level history and pumping performance.
Driveway, septic, site development, feasibility or a custom build near Summit County.
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