What Wells Are Like Around Tabernash

How deep are wells around Tabernash?

How much water do wells make near Tabernash?

Tabernash well depths: plan for mountain bedrock

The median permitted well depth near Tabernash is 250 feet. The middle half runs from 150 to 352 feet, meaning a bid based only on a shallow nearby well could be misleading. The 90th-percentile depth is 500 feet, and the deepest well in the record reaches 1,202 feet.

Depths are spread across the area: 14% are under 100 feet, 48% fall from 100 to 300 feet, 33% from 300 to 600 feet, and 6% are deeper than 600 feet. With 3,546 permits naming unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer conditions, fractures and local geology are major drivers. Ask a driller to price the expected depth range, casing, grout, and the possibility of drilling deeper if the first water-bearing fractures are inadequate.

Expected well yield near Tabernash

Reported pump yields have a 10.0 gallons-per-minute median, with the middle half between 7.0 and 12.0 gallons per minute. That is a workable planning range for many household systems, but it is a test result, not a promise that every lot will produce the same amount.

The local distribution is concentrated in the middle: 77% of reported wells produce from 5 to 15 gallons per minute. Another 11% report 1 to 5 gallons per minute, while 1% are under 1 gallon per minute and 11% are above 15 gallons per minute. Only 1,272 wells report a pump yield, so treat the result as a useful local guide rather than a complete survey. A low-yield well may still work with storage, but the system design and approval requirements need to be checked before closing.

Water levels and the local trend

The median static water level is 90 feet below ground surface, with the middle half between 60 and 100 feet. This is the depth to standing water after the well has recovered, not the total drilling depth and not necessarily the level while a pump is running.

The decade series does not show a continuing drop in the available records. Median measured water levels were 100 feet below surface in the 1990s, 100 feet in the 2000s, 90 feet in the 2010s, and 90 feet in the 2020s. Only 330 wells report a static water level, so use the pattern as background information. For a purchase, request the well’s construction and pump records, then compare its measured level and recovery behavior with nearby wells in Fraser, Granby, or Winter Park where relevant.

Who has drilled around Tabernash, and when

Permit activity spans several generations. The records show 7 permits from the 1950s, 67 from the 1960s, 530 from the 1970s, 450 from the 1980s, 933 from the 1990s, 696 from the 2000s, 301 from the 2010s, and 313 from the 2020s. The newest permit year is 2026. Older permits may describe systems that have been altered, abandoned, or replaced, so do not assume a permit alone proves current performance.

The most active drillers represented in these records are Mcpherson Drilling Company (Mcpherson, Benny Don) with 567 records, James Drilling (Keaton, Jordan K.) with 278, and Virginia Drilling Co. Inc. (Shuck, Otis C) with 188. These are record associations, not recommendations. Verify current licensing, insurance, availability, and the scope of a written bid.

What a new Tabernash well may cost

Fractured granite and gneiss make drilling slower and less predictable than drilling soft ground. The local cost model uses $65 to $100 per foot. At the 250-foot median depth, the drilled hole works out to about $16,200 to $25,000.

A finished household system, including the pump, tank, trenching, and electrical work, is estimated at $22,200 to $37,000 at that median depth. A deeper hole, difficult access, extra casing or grout, and electrical or trenching conditions can move the price higher. When comparing bids, ask what footage is included, what happens if the hole is dry or low-yield, and whether pump installation and water testing are included. A driller should also explain how the final system will be sized for the well’s tested production.

Risks to check before building near Tabernash

Low yield is not the only concern. The record includes 1% of reported wells under 1 gallon per minute, and fractured-bedrock wells can vary sharply from one lot to the next. A dry hole or an inadequate fracture is a real project risk, so investigate nearby completions before buying and budget for an unfavorable result.

Water quality also deserves direct testing. Mapped sites within about 10 miles include 6 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 2 historic mine features, and 2 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. Those locations do not prove contamination at a specific well, but they justify checking the property’s location and testing the existing water. Keep the well, septic system, and building areas coordinated. A Colorado DWR permit, exempt household-use rules, pumping limits, and any augmentation-plan requirements can affect what the well may legally serve.

Buying or building on a Tabernash lot

Before closing, obtain the DWR permit, well construction report, pump information, production test, static water level, and recent water-quality results. Compare those documents with wells close to the property rather than relying on the area median alone. The local record has 3,593 permits, but only 2,466 report a total depth, 1,272 report a pump yield, and 330 report a static water level.

For vacant land, make the well investigation part of feasibility work. Confirm rig access, likely drilling depth, power location, storage needs, septic setbacks, and a legal water-use plan. Domestic or household use accounts for 89% of the permits near Tabernash, while irrigation accounts for 1%. If the property is near Fraser, Granby, Winter Park, or another nearby community, do not assume its geology or water rights match the parcel you are evaluating.

Well permits by decade near Tabernash

What a new well costs in Tabernash, 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 (352 ft) would run roughly $28,880–$47,200. 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 Tabernash? 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 Tabernash 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 Tabernash

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

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