Adams County Well Guide

Welby well depths, costs and land-buying checks

Colorado Well FinderWells by countyAdams County › Welby

A shallow well record near Welby does not necessarily tell you what a household water supply will require. Colorado DWR records within 5 miles include 10,456 permits, and monitoring accounts for 64% of the reported use mix. Domestic and household uses account for 14%.

The recorded median depth is 32 feet, but that figure needs context before you use it to price a project. For property in Welby or toward Sherrelwood, North Washington and Twin Lakes, start by separating nearby water-supply wells from monitoring installations.

10,456wells in DWR permit records
32 ftmedian well depth
20–49 ftmiddle half of well depths
34.0 gpmmedian pump yield
10 ftmedian depth to water
2025newest permit on record

Figures are computed from Colorado Division of Water Resources permit records for permitted wells within 5 miles of Welby. Not every permit reports every field; each statistic uses the wells that report it.

How deep are wells around Welby?

89% under 100 ft3% 100–300 ft4% 300–600 ft3% 600+ ft
Depth statisticFeet
25th percentile20
Median32
75th percentile49
90th percentile105
Deepest on record1,751
Aquifer named on permitsWells
unnamed / fractured-bedrock aquifer7,540
Alluvial1,240
Quaternary Alluvium174

How much water do wells make near Welby?

0% under 1 gpm2% 1–5 gpm22% 5–15 gpm76% 15+ gpm
Yield statisticgpm
25th percentile15.0
Median34.0
75th percentile130.0
Median depth to water10 ft
Median water level by decadeDepth to water
1960s24 ft
2000s23 ft
2010s10 ft
2020s9 ft

Welby’s shallow records need a closer look

Among the 6,079 records reporting depth, the median is 32 feet and the middle half runs from 20 to 49 feet. That is a shallow recorded range, not a dependable target for a new domestic well. Monitoring wells dominate the local permit inventory and may be completed for a different purpose than supplying a home.

Depths under 100 feet account for 89% of the reported mix, yet the deepest record reaches 1,751 feet. Permits include Alluvial and Quaternary Alluvium aquifer labels, while the drilling cost model assumes Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock. A useful bid needs the intended aquifer, permitted use and comparable supply-well logs—not just the area median.

Reported yields look strong, but the sample is small

Only 266 records report a pump yield. Within that sample, the median is 34.0 gpm and the middle half spans 15.0–130.0 gpm. Those results suggest productive wells are present around Welby, but they do not establish what an untested parcel will produce.

The reported yield mix has 76% at 15+ gpm, 2% at 1–5 gpm and 0% under 1 gpm. That last figure is not proof that low-yield or unsuccessful wells are absent. Before buying, obtain the actual well’s pumping-test report and check sustained production and recovery. Reported pump capacity also does not establish the amount or uses legally allowed under its DWR permit.

Water is shallow in the measurements—not steadily dropping

Static water level is the depth to standing water in a resting well, not the well’s total drilled depth. The 282 Welby-area records with measurements have a median of 10 feet below ground, with the middle half between 7 and 23 feet.

The decade medians are 24 feet in the 1960s, 23 feet in the 2000s, 10 feet in the 2010s and 9 feet in the 2020s. These figures do not show a progressively dropping water table; the later medians are shallower. They also are not repeat measurements from a fixed set of wells. For excavation, septic design or basement planning, investigate seasonal groundwater on the parcel rather than treating the regional median as a design elevation.

Welby’s permit activity includes substantial monitoring work

The inventory lists 5,292 wells as constructed out of 10,456 permit records. Permits are not interchangeable with completed, operating household wells. Recorded issuance includes 1,637 permits in the 1990s, 1,659 in the 2000s and 2,610 in the 2010s. The 2020s have 996, with the newest permit dated 2025; that is not a complete-decade comparison.

The most frequent driller-field entry is “Authorized (Pe, Pg)” at 3,289 records. Treat that as a recorded label, not a contractor recommendation. Named entries include Layne, Christensen Co. (Tormoehlen, David A.) with 202 and Ground Exploration Llc (Bender, Joseph T.) with 102. Historical record counts do not establish current availability or suitability for a domestic project.

Budget beyond the drilled hole in Welby

The supplied cost model uses Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock at $50–$70 per foot. Applied to the recorded 32-foot median, it puts the drilled hole at about $1,600–$2,200 and a finished well with pump, tank, trenching and electrical at about $7,600–$14,200.

Use that as a model, not a parcel quote. The depth statistics include substantial monitoring activity, so the median may not represent the supply well your home needs. Ask bidders to state the target depth and aquifer, casing and grout scope, pump equipment, access requirements and exclusions. A deeper required completion or difficult equipment access can change the project substantially, even when nearby mapped wells appear shallow.

Cleanup records and shallow groundwater deserve attention

Within about 10 miles of Welby, the mapped environmental inventory includes 686 PFAS sampling/contamination sites and 175 EPA Superfund/cleanup sites. These are screening records across a broad area—not evidence that every nearby well is contaminated. A PFAS sampling location also does not, by itself, establish a detection in your water.

Check each relevant site’s status, groundwater findings and relationship to the parcel. Have a qualified laboratory test the actual supply, with analytes selected for local conditions and site history. A depth log or strong yield cannot establish drinking-water safety. For construction, coordinate well placement, septic suitability, drainage and excavation planning before fixing the house location; shallow groundwater can constrain the layout.

Before closing on land near Welby

Start with the parcel’s water-service options and DWR permit status. Do not assume an existing monitoring well can supply a residence or that a household-use permit allows irrigation. New withdrawals may face water-rights restrictions, and an augmentation plan may be needed where applicable.

Compare nearby records toward North Washington, Derby or Federal Heights, but match intended use and aquifer before comparing depths. Request the permit, completion log, pumping test, water-quality results and any abandonment records. Make the purchase decision depend on a legal, workable supply—not a nearby map marker. For an undeveloped lot, settle rig access, well and septic placement, utility routing and the building footprint together before committing to the site plan.

Well permits by decade near Welby

Decade permittedWells
1950s380
1960s363
1970s210
1980s510
1990s1,637
2000s1,659
2010s2,610
2020s996
Most active drillers on recordWells
Authorized (Pe, Pg)3,289
Layne, Christensen Co. (Tormoehlen, David A.)202
Ground Exploration Llc (Bender, Joseph T.)102

What a new well costs in Welby, CO

Estimated cost of a new well · Welby, CO · median depth 32 ft
State & county well permit DWR application + county fee
$100–$400
Drilling, casing & grouting 32 ft × $50–$70/ft in Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock
$1,600–$2,200
Pump, pressure tank & install scales with depth
$3,000–$8,000
Trenching, water line, electrical, water test
$2,100–$8,400
Typical finished total
$7,600–$14,200

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 (49 ft) would run roughly $8,450–$15,430. See the full Colorado well cost guide.

Environmental sites mapped within about 10 miles

686PFAS sampling / contamination sites
1historic mine features
175EPA Superfund & cleanup sites

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.

See every well near a specific address in Welby

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 Welby
Building or improving land near Welby?

Tri-Lakes Contracting

For a Welby lot, Tri-Lakes Contracting is a licensed Colorado contractor for access driveways, site development, new-build septic systems and custom homes. Coordinate those improvements with the property’s well location, groundwater conditions and water-supply plan.

Licensed Colorado custom home builder · licensed driveway & excavation contractor · licensed septic installer

Buying land near Welby? 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 Welby 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.

What the wrong lot can cost you · the things a listing never mentions
Long or steep driveway & access
$25k–$80k+
Rock excavation & extra earthwork
$15k–$60k+
Engineered / advanced septic instead of conventional
+$20k–$40k
Water & long utility runs
$10k–$50k+
A feasibility report
from $99

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.

Tell us about your project

Driveway, site work, septic or a build near Welby. Licensed GC, excavator and septic installer.

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Common questions about wells in Welby

How deep are wells in Welby, Colorado?

Within 5 miles of Welby, recorded well depths have a median of 32 feet, with the middle half between 20 and 49 feet. However, monitoring accounts for 64% of the use mix. A new household well may need a different completion depth, so compare nearby supply wells in the intended aquifer before relying on that median.

How much does it cost to drill a well in Welby?

The supplied model estimates $50–$70 per foot for Denver Basin sedimentary bedrock. At the recorded 32-foot median, that means about $1,600–$2,200 for the hole or $7,600–$14,200 finished with pump, tank, trenching and electrical. Because monitoring wells dominate the records, get a parcel-specific depth and construction proposal before using those figures as your budget.

How much water do wells in Welby produce?

The 266 records reporting pump yield have a median of 34.0 gpm, with the middle half between 15.0 and 130.0 gpm. That is a limited sample of the local inventory, not a guarantee for your property. Review a sustained pumping test and recovery results, and verify that the permit allows your intended household and outdoor uses.

Is well water safe to drink in Welby?

Safety cannot be determined from depth or yield. The nearby mapped inventory includes 686 PFAS sampling/contamination sites and 175 EPA Superfund/cleanup sites within about 10 miles, but those counts do not prove contamination at a particular well. Review relevant cleanup records and arrange laboratory testing of the actual water supply before relying on it for drinking.

Is the water table dropping in Welby?

The supplied measurements do not show a steadily dropping water table. Median depth to water was 24 feet in the 1960s and 9 feet in the 2020s, meaning the later median is shallower. However, these decade groups are not repeated measurements from the same wells. They cannot establish the long-term groundwater trend at an individual parcel.

Keep researching

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

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Driveway, septic, site work or a build near Welby?Licensed GC, excavator & septic installer. Tell us what you need — 30 seconds.