Colorado Well Finder › Wells by county › Boulder County › Sunshine
Sunshine sits in mountain terrain where most permitted wells draw from unnamed fractured-bedrock aquifers rather than the Denver Basin. The local records show a wide range of drilling conditions, so a nearby well is useful evidence but not a guarantee for your parcel.
For a buyer, the main questions are practical: how far a driller may need to go, how much water neighboring wells produce, where the water level sits, and what the completed project may cost. The records around Sunshine, including Crisman, Lazy Acres, Gold Hill, Mountain Meadows, Seven Hills, and Tall Timber, give a useful starting point before you order a site-specific bid.
Figures are computed from Colorado Division of Water Resources permit records for permitted wells within 5 miles of Sunshine. Not every permit reports every field; each statistic uses the wells that report it.
| Depth statistic | Feet |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 157 |
| Median | 290 |
| 75th percentile | 436 |
| 90th percentile | 600 |
| Deepest on record | 4,550 |
| Aquifer named on permits | Wells |
|---|---|
| unnamed / fractured-bedrock aquifer | 3,470 |
| Fractured Crystalline | 10 |
| Fractured Granite | 8 |
| Yield statistic | gpm |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | 5.0 |
| Median | 7.0 |
| 75th percentile | 10.0 |
| Median depth to water | 70 ft |
| Median water level by decade | Depth to water |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 34 ft |
| 1970s | 40 ft |
| 1980s | 55 ft |
| 2010s | 100 ft |
| 2020s | 100 ft |
The median permitted well depth around Sunshine is 290 feet. The middle half runs from 157 to 436 feet, which is the range a buyer should keep in mind when comparing drilling bids. A bid based only on the median can be misleading because the local ground is fractured mountain bedrock, including granite and gneiss.
Depths are spread broadly: 16% of wells are under 100 feet, while 37% are between 300 and 600 feet. The 90th percentile is 600 feet, and the deepest record reaches 4,550 feet. That extreme does not predict a typical lot, but it shows why a drilling contract should explain footage pricing, casing, grout, and what happens if the hole must continue.
Among the wells reporting pump yield, the median is 7.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 5.0 and 10.0 gallons per minute. That is a generally workable range for ordinary household use when the well, pressure system, storage, and plumbing are properly designed.
The distribution still matters. 69% of reported yields fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, while 18% are between 1 and 5. Only 2% are under 1 gallon per minute, but a low-producing well can still affect building plans and daily use. Ask for the pumping test, recovery information, and permit conditions rather than relying on a seller's verbal estimate.
The reported static water level has a median depth of 70 feet, with the middle half between 30 and 100 feet below the surface. Static level means the water standing in the well when it is not being pumped; it is not the same as the bottom of the well or its sustainable yield.
The decade series shows a deeper recorded water level over time: the median was 34 feet in the 1960s, 40 in the 1970s, 55 in the 1980s, and 100 in both the 2010s and 2020s. That suggests a possible decline, but only 114 wells report static levels, so the series is not a complete groundwater monitoring network. Treat it as a warning to investigate, not proof of a uniform decline at every lot.
Colorado DWR records contain 3,621 permitted wells within the local data area. Of those, 2,420 are recorded as constructed, 2,512 report total depth, and 966 report pump yield. The newest permit year is 2025, so the area is still seeing well activity rather than relying only on historic records.
Permit volume was highest in the 1970s, with 827 permits, followed by 568 in the 1990s and 541 in the 1980s. The most frequent names in the records are Ground Water Systems Inc (Wilson, Richard R.) with 846, Ingram Drilling Inc. (Ingram, Stephen E.) with 261, and Walton with 199. A permit record helps identify local experience, but confirm current licensing, availability, and the scope of any proposal.
For fractured granite and gneiss, the local drilling cost model uses a typical rate of $65 to $100 per foot. At the 290-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $18,800 to $29,000. That is the hole itself, not the complete water system.
A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is modeled at about $24,800 to $41,000 at the median depth. Actual bids can move outside that range if the site requires more footage, difficult access, additional casing or grout, special electrical work, or a longer utility trench. Get the assumptions in writing, including mobilization, testing, abandonment terms, and whether the price changes if the hole is dry or produces less than expected.
Water quantity is only part of the risk. Within about 10 miles of Sunshine, the mapped records include 80 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 666 historic mine features, and 65 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These findings do not establish contamination in a particular well, but they justify laboratory testing and a review of nearby land uses, mine history, and drainage.
Most local permits are for domestic or household use, at 90% of the records. Stock use is 2%, irrigation is recorded at 0%, and monitoring is 3%. Confirm the actual permit rights before assuming lawn irrigation, livestock use, or a second residence is allowed. Also check well-to-septic separation, room for a replacement septic system, driveway access for a rig, slope stability, and the location of the proposed house.
Start with the closest completed wells in Sunshine and nearby Crisman, Lazy Acres, Gold Hill, Mountain Meadows, Seven Hills, and Tall Timber. Compare their depths, reported yields, static levels, aquifer descriptions, and construction dates. Similar bedrock and topography are more useful than a distant record that happens to have a good yield.
Before closing, request the well permit and construction report, verify the permitted use, and arrange an independent water-quality test. If the parcel has no well, have a local driller review access, geology, and likely footage before you set a budget. For a new build, coordinate the well, septic system, electrical service, storage, and house location together. A DWR permit is necessary, but it does not guarantee water production or a particular water quality.
| Decade permitted | Wells |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 34 |
| 1960s | 185 |
| 1970s | 827 |
| 1980s | 541 |
| 1990s | 568 |
| 2000s | 306 |
| 2010s | 168 |
| 2020s | 97 |
| Most active drillers on record | Wells |
|---|---|
| Ground Water Systems Inc (Wilson, Richard R.) | 846 |
| Ingram Drilling Inc. (Ingram, Stephen E.) | 261 |
| Walton, | 199 |
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 (436 ft) would run roughly $34,340–$55,600. 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 SunshineTri-Lakes Contracting is a licensed Colorado contractor serving Sunshine and nearby mountain communities with access driveways, site development, new-build septic systems, and custom homes. Their early site review can help coordinate difficult access, utilities, wastewater, and construction planning around a private well.
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A listing photo can't tell you whether a lot is a dream or a money pit. Two parcels near Sunshine 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.
Driveway, site work, septic or a build near Sunshine. Licensed GC, excavator and septic installer.
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The median permitted well depth near Sunshine is 290 feet. The middle half runs from 157 to 436 feet, and the 90th percentile is 600 feet. About 37% of wells are between 300 and 600 feet. Because the area is fractured mountain bedrock, the nearest comparable wells should guide a bid more than the median alone.
The local model uses $65 to $100 per foot for fractured granite and gneiss. At the 290-foot median depth, drilling the hole is estimated at $18,800 to $29,000. A finished system with pump, tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at $24,800 to $41,000. Access, extra footage, casing, grout, and electrical requirements can change the bid.
Reported pump yields have a 7.0 gallons-per-minute median, with the middle half between 5.0 and 10.0 gallons per minute. About 69% of reported yields are between 5 and 15 gallons per minute. Results are not available for every well, and fractured bedrock can vary sharply between lots, so obtain the actual pumping and recovery information.
A well record does not prove that water is safe to drink. Nearby records include 80 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 666 historic mine features, and 65 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites within about 10 miles. Test the specific well through a qualified laboratory, especially for contaminants associated with local mine or cleanup history, before relying on it for household use.
Reported median static water levels were 34 feet below the surface in the 1960s and 40 feet in the 1970s, then 55 feet in the 1980s and 100 feet in both the 2010s and 2020s. That pattern suggests deeper water levels in newer records, but only 114 wells report static levels, so it does not prove the same trend on every property.
All wells in Boulder County — county-wide depth, yield and cost figures.
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