What Superior, Colorado Wells Are Really Like

How deep are wells around Superior?

How much water do wells make near Superior?

Superior well depths vary sharply by ground and aquifer

The median permitted well near Superior is 150 feet, but the middle half runs from 28 to 300 feet. That wide spread matters when reviewing a drilling bid: a median-depth estimate is only a starting point, and a parcel-specific quote may need room for a substantially shallower or deeper hole. The 90th percentile is 520 feet, while the deepest record reaches 1,989 feet.

Depth records also show that shallow wells are common, with 45% under 100 feet. Another 27% fall between 100 and 300 feet, 22% between 300 and 600 feet, and 7% at 600 feet or more. Nearby Louisville, Paragon Estates, Eldorado Springs, Lafayette, Broomfield, and Westminster can provide useful comparison records, but they do not replace checking the immediate neighbors.

A Superior well often makes useful household flow

Among the local wells that report pump yield, the median is 10.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half between 7.0 and 14.0 gallons per minute. That is a workable production range for many household uses, but a yield test is more important than the neighborhood median when sizing a pump, pressure tank, or storage system.

The low-end risk is present but not dominant in the records. 3% of reported yields are under 1 gallon per minute, and 7% are between 1 and 5 gallons per minute. Most, 67%, fall between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, while 23% exceed 15 gallons per minute. Ask for the well construction report and the actual pumping test, not just a seller's verbal description.

Recorded water levels near Superior are relatively shallow

The reported static water level has a median of 20 feet below the surface, with the middle half from 10 to 44 feet. Static level is the resting depth to water, not the depth of the well and not necessarily the level while pumping. A shallow static level can reduce pumping lift, but it does not by itself prove that the well will produce adequately.

The decade series does not show a simple long-term decline. Median depth to water was 34 feet in the 1950s, 30 in the 1960s, 18 in the 1970s, 26 in the 1980s, 19 in the 2010s, and 12 in the 2020s. The measurements are sparse, with only 97 total static-level records, so treat the pattern as local historical context rather than a basin-wide forecast.

Permit history shows a busy, changing well area

Permit activity near Superior is concentrated in the 1990s, when 1,640 permits were issued. The records show 101 permits in the 1950s, 157 in the 1960s, 279 in the 1970s, 227 in the 1980s, 560 in the 2000s, 277 in the 2010s, and 197 in the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2025.

The largest named record holder is Authorized (Pe, Pg), with 1,205 records, followed by Boyles Bros. Drilling Co. (Lensch, George E) with 427, and Waneka & Son Drilling (Waneka, Don) with 310. These are historical permit-record names, not endorsements or proof of current availability. Confirm licensing, insurance, scheduling, and the written scope directly before hiring a driller.

Budgeting a new Superior well

The local cost model uses a typical drilling rate of $50-$70 per foot in Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock. At the 150-foot median depth, the drilled hole is estimated at about $7,500-$10,500. That is not the complete water-system price.

A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at $13,500-$22,500 at the median depth. The broad local depth range is why a low initial bid can be misleading: drilling farther, casing and grouting requirements, difficult access, water testing, and site-specific electrical or trench work can change the final amount. Get the bid to state what happens if the hole is dry or the yield is below the target.

Check water quality, low yield, and the building site

Environmental history deserves a real review before closing. Within about ten miles of Superior, the map includes 319 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 128 historic mine features, and 33 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. A mapped site is a reason to investigate, not proof that a particular well is contaminated. Test the water through a qualified laboratory and review nearby environmental records.

Low yield, a dry hole, and fractured-rock unpredictability remain possible even where nearby wells perform well. Confirm the permit status and intended use with Colorado DWR. Domestic or household use accounts for 36% of local permits, while monitoring accounts for 46%; the use listed on a nearby permit may not match a residence. Before building, also confirm septic setbacks, well-to-septic separation, access for a drill rig, casing and grout requirements, and the site's legal ability to support the planned home.

Do the well investigation before buying a Superior lot

Start with the state well permit, construction report, pump test, water-quality results, and service records for the property. Then compare the closest completed wells rather than relying on the overall five-mile summary. A 150-foot neighborhood median with a 28-to-300-foot middle half should be carried into both the budget and the drilling-risk discussion.

For a vacant lot, have a driller and septic professional review access, setbacks, likely borehole placement, and the proposed home plan before you waive contingencies. For an existing home, confirm that the pump, pressure system, storage, and electrical equipment match the reported yield. If the basin is over-appropriated, water rights and an augmentation plan may affect what a new exempt household-use well can legally do. Have the permit and intended use checked before construction starts.

Well permits by decade near Superior

What a new well costs in Superior, 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 (300 ft) would run roughly $21,000–$33,000. 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 Superior? 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 Superior 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 Superior

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

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