What to Expect From a Well in Teller County

How deep are wells around Teller County?

How much water do wells make near Teller County?

Budget for Bedrock, Not Just the 260-Foot Median

Among the 7,315 wells reporting depth, the median is 260 feet, and the middle half run from 150 to 400 feet. For a driller’s bid, that spread matters more than the midpoint alone: ask how the price changes if drilling must continue beyond the planned depth. The 90th-percentile depth is 508 feet, so deeper work is part of the county’s record.

Most permits identify an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer; others specify fractured granite or fractured crystalline rock. Denver Basin aquifers account for 0% of these wells. In this mountain setting, productive fractures—not a uniform underground layer—largely determine where drilling can stop. Compare nearby completion reports around Divide or Florissant rather than assuming countywide depth will fit your lot.

A 6.0 GPM Well Still Needs a Demand Check

The 4,334 reported pump yields have a 6.0 gpm median, with the middle half between 2.0 and 9.3 gpm. That range calls for matching the well’s tested performance to household demand, rather than choosing equipment from the county average. A reported pump yield is not a guarantee of sustained output through changing conditions.

The buyer’s concern is the low end: 11% report less than 1 gpm. A slow-producing well may need storage and careful demand management, and some results may not support the intended use. Before buying, have the well evaluated for sustained production and recovery. A neighbor’s strong well in Woodland Park or Cripple Creek does not establish what fractures your parcel will encounter.

Recent Water Levels Are Deeper, but the Record Is Limited

Static water level is the resting depth to water inside the well, not the depth of the drilled hole. Only 636 county records report it. Their median is 95 feet below ground, with the middle half from 60 to 140 feet.

Decade medians were 114 feet in the 1960s, 76 in the 1970s, 52 in the 1980s, 85 in the 2010s and 105 in the 2020s. The later measurements are deeper than those from the 1980s, suggesting lower resting levels in the more recent sample. However, these are not necessarily repeat measurements of the same wells. They do not establish a steady countywide decline. For a purchase, current static and pumping levels are more useful than treating this series as a forecast.

Teller County’s Permit Boom Was in the 1990s

The busiest permit decade was the 1990s, with 2,581 permits, compared with 1,799 in the 1980s and 1,791 in the 2000s. Records show 814 in the 2010s and 688 in the 2020s, with the newest permit year listed as 2025. The latest decade is incomplete, and permit totals are not counts of completed wells.

Leading historical driller entries are Mountain Well Improvement Llc (Wiley, David D.), with 1,774 records; Woods Drilling Inc. (Woods, William D.), with 1,604; and Woods Drilling Inc. (Woods, William L.), with 1,158. These identify experience represented in the files, not current availability or licensing. Use the original completion report to identify who drilled an existing well and what conditions they encountered.

What a New Teller County Well Can Cost

The supplied cost model uses $65–$100 per foot for drilling fractured mountain bedrock such as granite and gneiss. At the 260-foot median depth, that puts the drilled hole at about $16,900–$26,000. A finished well with pump, tank, trenching and electrical is modeled at $22,900–$38,000.

Treat those figures as planning allowances, not a parcel-specific quote. Get a written scope that spells out casing, grout, testing, access requirements and what happens if the planned depth produces too little water. On a mountain lot around Midland or Goldfield, rig access and the route between the well and house deserve attention before pricing is finalized. Confirm which permit and site-work expenses are included rather than assuming “finished well” covers everything.

Mine Features and Low Yields Deserve Separate Checks

Mapped environmental records within about 10 miles include 9 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 276 historic mine features and 12 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites. These are screening flags, not proof that a particular well is contaminated. Around Victor and Cripple Creek, review mapped mine features alongside the parcel location and ask a qualified laboratory or local health authority which tests fit the site.

Water safety and water quantity are separate questions. Obtain laboratory results, inspect the wellhead and casing, and review construction and grout records. Fractured bedrock also carries low-yield and dry-hole risk; the county statistics cannot promise success. Locate the proposed septic system, replacement area, building footprint and well together before excavation so the layout meets applicable separation and access requirements.

Before Closing on a Lot in Divide or Florissant

Start with the actual DWR permit, not the listing’s statement that a property “has a well.” Match the permit and completion records to the parcel, confirm the well’s location, and check authorized uses. Domestic or household use appears on 91% of county records, but that does not mean every permit allows outdoor watering or livestock. Household-use restrictions and any augmentation requirements need a parcel-specific review.

Next, compare neighboring wells for depth and production, then obtain current testing for an existing well. For vacant land in Divide, Florissant or Woodland Park, have the driller and site contractor review access, the house location, septic feasibility and utility routes together. Resolve water supply and site-layout questions before committing to a building plan that depends on them.

Well permits by decade near Teller County

What a new well costs in Teller County

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 (400 ft) would run roughly $32,000–$52,000. 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 Teller County? 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 Teller 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.

• 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 Teller County

Keep researching

Towns and areas in Teller County

Neighboring counties