Wellington, Colorado Well Depth, Yield, and Cost

How deep are wells around Wellington?

How much water do wells make near Wellington?

Wellington well depth is shallow on paper, but variable in the ground

The reported median depth near Wellington is 66 feet. Two-thirds of the wells with reported depth are under 100 feet, while 9% fall between 100 and 300 feet, 14% between 300 and 600 feet, and 12% exceed 600 feet. The middle half spans 40 to 300 feet, which is the range that matters when comparing drilling bids.

A driller should not price your lot from the median alone. The local records include wells as deep as 1,855 feet, and 643 wells report a total depth. Most permits name an unnamed or fractured-bedrock aquifer, with 902 wells in that category. Alluvial wells account for 18 records, and Dakota Sandstone wells for 10. Fractured granite and gneiss can change quickly across short distances.

Most Wellington wells make usable flow, but test the actual lot

Only 194 wells report a pump yield, so the yield statistics are a useful local guide rather than a guarantee. The median reported yield is 10.0 gallons per minute, with the middle half from 7.0 to 17.2 gallons per minute. Fifty-seven percent report between 5 and 15 gallons per minute, while 35% report more than 15 gallons per minute.

Low-producing wells are present but not dominant: 6% report 1 to 5 gallons per minute and 2% report under 1 gallon per minute. For a buyer, the important question is sustained performance under the permitted use, not just the driller's initial flow test. Ask for the well construction report, pump information, and any production or recovery testing before relying on the number.

Wellington water levels do not show a simple falling trend

Static water level is reported for only 47 wells. Across those records, the median depth to water is 96 feet, with the middle half from 16 to 198 feet below the surface. That spread matters for pump sizing, trenching, and the cost of bringing water into a house.

The decade comparison does not point to a dropping table in this record set. The median measured level was 96 feet below surface in the 2010s and 90 feet in the 2020s. Those figures are not a site-specific guarantee, and the sample is limited. A buyer should still have the existing well tested for static level, recovery, pump operation, and water quality rather than assuming a regional median applies to the property.

Wellington has a long permit history and several recurring drillers

Wellington-area records go back to the 1950s, with 98 permits issued in that decade. The record count rose to 129 in the 1990s and 175 in the 2000s. There were 53 permits in the 2010s and 68 in the 2020s, with the newest permit year listed as 2025. The mix is mainly domestic or household use at 49%, followed by irrigation at 25% and stock at 17%.

The most active names in these records are Lesh Drilling Inc. (Lesh Jr., Ed), with 102 records; Schott Bros. Drilling (Schott, Carl), with 82; and Authorized (Pe, Pg), with 64. These entries describe permit history, not an endorsement or a current bid. Confirm licensing, availability, scope, and the exact construction method before hiring.

What a new well can cost near Wellington

The local cost model assumes fractured mountain bedrock, including granite and gneiss, at $65 to $100 per foot. At the 66-foot median depth, the drilled hole is estimated at about $4,300 to $6,600. That is not the complete water system. A finished well with pump, pressure tank, trenching, and electrical is estimated at $10,300 to $18,600 at that depth.

Depth is the main uncertainty in the bid. Because the middle half of reported wells runs from 40 to 300 feet, a lot that needs a deeper hole can move well beyond the median-depth estimate. Get written pricing for mobilization, casing, grout, drilling beyond the estimate, pump equipment, power, trenching, water testing, and any difficult access. Confirm what happens if the hole is dry or produces too little water.

Environmental, septic, and building checks around Wellington

The mapped area within about 10 miles includes 53 PFAS sampling or contamination sites, 14 EPA Superfund or cleanup sites, and 11 historic mine features. Their presence does not prove a problem on a particular parcel, but it is a reason to order a current water-quality test and review the property's environmental history. Test results should match the intended household use.

Low yield, a dry hole, poor recovery, and fractured-bedrock variability remain practical risks. Before placing a house, confirm the well location, septic setbacks, reserve area, driveway access, and electrical route with the appropriate professionals. An exempt household-use well still has permit and use limits, including the 35-gpm pumping limit. In an over-appropriated basin, an augmentation plan may be required for some uses. Check DWR records before assuming water is available for a new home.

Well permits by decade near Wellington

What a new well costs in Wellington, 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 $25,500–$42,000. 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 Wellington? 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 Wellington 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 Wellington

Keep researching

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

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