Telluride, Colorado Well Depths, Yields, and Costs

How deep are wells around Telluride?

How much water do wells make near Telluride?

How deep are wells around Telluride?

The median reported well depth near Telluride is 210 feet. Half of the wells with depth records fall between 96 and 445 feet, while the 90th percentile reaches 650 feet and the deepest record is 1,190 feet.

The depth mix shows why a driller should price the job as a range rather than assume the median: 26% are under 100 feet, 35% are 100-300 feet, 26% are 300-600 feet, and 13% exceed 600 feet. Most permits name an unnamed fractured-bedrock aquifer, with 632 wells in that category. Granite and gneiss can fracture differently over short distances, so nearby depth records are useful but not a guarantee for your parcel.

Telluride well yields: what can a home expect?

Among 118 wells reporting pump yield, the median is 12.5 gallons per minute and the middle half spans 5.0 to 50.0 gallons per minute. The distribution is stronger than many buyers assume: 47% report more than 15 gallons per minute, 40% report 5-15 gallons per minute, 12% report 1-5 gallons per minute, and 1% report under 1 gallon per minute.

A yield test is still essential. A high-producing neighboring well does not prove the same fracture crosses your lot, and a low-yield well may need storage and careful demand management. Ask for the well construction report, pump test information, and the intended household use before relying on a number in a listing.

Is the water table dropping near Telluride?

Only 25 records report a static water level, so the water-level sample is limited. In those records, the median depth to water is 38 feet, with the middle half between 18 and 74 feet below the surface.

The decade comparison does show a change in the available measurements: the median was 38 feet below surface in the 2010s and 56 feet in the 2020s. That is a deeper measured water level in the later group, but the small number of records and differing well locations mean it should not be treated as proof of a basin-wide decline. Have a qualified professional check the specific well's static level, pumping history, and seasonal behavior.

Who has drilled near Telluride, and when?

Permit activity is spread across several decades, with the largest recorded period in the 1990s at 229 permits. The records show 150 permits from the 2000s, 74 from the 2010s, and 29 from the 2020s; the newest permit year is 2025. Earlier records include 9 permits from the 1970s and 48 from the 1980s.

The most active drillers in these records are Authorized (Pe, Pg), associated with 98 wells; Bill Kissner Drilling Inc, associated with 92; and Golden Eagle Drilling Corporation, associated with 41. These names help when tracing local construction patterns around Telluride, Mountain Village, and Ophir, but a permit record is not a performance warranty. Confirm current licensing, references, and the exact scope of any bid.

What does a new well cost in Telluride?

The local cost model assumes fractured mountain bedrock, including granite and gneiss, at roughly $65-$100 per drilled foot. At the 210-foot median depth, that puts the drilled hole at about $13,600-$21,000.

A finished system costs more than drilling. With pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical included, the modeled total at the median depth is about $19,600-$33,000. A lot requiring a 445-foot hole or deeper can exceed that range, while a shallow hole may cost less. Get the bid in writing and ask what happens if the hole is dry, the yield is low, casing or grout requirements change, or access is difficult.

Risks to check before building on a Telluride lot

Mining history is a major part of local due diligence. Within about 10 miles, the map shows 4,417 historic mine features, 19 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites, and 8 PFAS sampling or contamination sites. These mapped features do not automatically mean a property is contaminated, but they justify testing the well water and reviewing the site's proximity to mines, drainage pathways, and cleanup areas.

Also check for low yield, dry-hole risk, water-quality treatment, and the separation between the well, septic system, and building area. Confirm that the parcel can support a permitted septic design, access for a large drilling rig, utility trenching, and the intended home location. Colorado DWR permit records and neighboring well reports are valuable starting points, not substitutes for site-specific investigations.

Well permits by decade near Telluride

What a new well costs in Telluride, 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 (445 ft) would run roughly $34,925–$56,500. 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 Telluride? 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 Telluride 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 Telluride

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

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