CO · wells & permits

Water wells in Colorado

Real drilling records, county depth medians, active contractors, and exactly what it takes to pull a well permit in Colorado.

The permit, in plain language

Paper / PDF filingverified landing

Colorado DWR

C.R.S. 37-90-105

Instrument: permit
Fee: $100
Who files: Property owner applies
Timeline: Up to 49 days

~$100 residential (unpinned) — PDF emailed to DWRPermitsOnline@state.co.us

Before the rig arrives

Confirm parcel allows a private well (vs required public water connection).
Select a licensed well contractor; obtain owner authorization as required.
File permit with Colorado DWR (PDF/email/mail — WellMap prepares the packet; lawful submitter files).
Do not drill until authorization is issued (or notification accepted, per regime).

After drilling: Well Construction & Yield Estimate Report (eForm) within 30 days → Colorado DWR · filing link ↗

Forms: CO well application · Well Construction & Yield Estimate Report (eForm)

Open the filing portal ↗

WellMap prepares estimate-backed quote packets and dual-party approvals. It does not issue permits and never auto-submits to government systems. The licensed driller (and/or owner where required by law) is the submitter of record. Verified 2026-07-14.

Top drillers on record

No contractor statistics for Colorado yet — several states publish drilling records without contractor names, and a few aren't in bulk form at all. See data & methodology.

Get a depth estimate anywhere in Colorado

County by county

Depth statistics across Colorado

Medians from wells with verified total depth. Click a county for its permit authority, fee and filing channel.

County	Wells	With depth	Median	p10–p90
EL PASO	50,847	33,029	300 ft	43–591 ft
WELD	45,136	28,527	60 ft	17–590 ft
JEFFERSON	44,760	29,226	250 ft	24–680 ft
ADAMS	27,122	16,257	60 ft	20–576 ft
PARK	26,614	19,798	245 ft	84–520 ft
DOUGLAS	24,785	15,767	370 ft	70–773 ft
LARIMER	22,520	15,512	200 ft	20–600 ft
BOULDER	21,709	14,709	155 ft	15–505 ft
LA PLATA	20,180	12,698	155 ft	46–363 ft
ELBERT	20,129	12,452	350 ft	83–620 ft
ARAPAHOE	17,215	9,984	220 ft	20–780 ft
GARFIELD	13,067	8,160	104 ft	29–295 ft
PUEBLO	12,951	8,943	47 ft	23–525 ft
YUMA	12,863	8,171	235 ft	73–360 ft
DENVER	12,738	6,646	28 ft	15–64 ft
GRAND	12,603	8,598	200 ft	50–501 ft
TELLER	12,480	8,867	280 ft	88–540 ft
CHAFFEE	11,959	9,068	113 ft	37–335 ft
FREMONT	11,546	8,190	200 ft	43–500 ft
ALAMOSA	10,783	7,082	100 ft	40–600 ft
RIO GRANDE	10,780	8,121	100 ft	35–325 ft
MORGAN	10,249	7,483	91 ft	43–171 ft
LOGAN	9,875	7,008	89 ft	38–334 ft
GUNNISON	9,645	6,122	72 ft	25–360 ft
SUMMIT	9,508	6,213	125 ft	40–294 ft
SAGUACHE	9,257	6,307	120 ft	50–400 ft
LAS ANIMAS	8,282	3,320	150 ft	40–520 ft
CUSTER	8,036	6,120	205 ft	68–475 ft
ROUTT	7,910	4,936	175 ft	15–500 ft
KIT CARSON	7,118	4,430	236 ft	106–315 ft
MESA	6,908	4,215	82 ft	15–498 ft
CLEAR CREEK	6,228	4,125	263 ft	50–602 ft
CONEJOS	6,108	4,441	100 ft	30–350 ft
WASHINGTON	6,061	4,008	100 ft	40–305 ft
BACA	5,560	3,293	275 ft	100–497 ft
GILPIN	5,244	3,960	260 ft	80–540 ft
PITKIN	4,959	3,063	102 ft	35–372 ft
EAGLE	4,910	2,684	120 ft	30–400 ft
MOFFAT	4,701	2,963	210 ft	20–500 ft
COSTILLA	4,623	2,995	180 ft	50–400 ft
HUERFANO	4,485	2,850	120 ft	20–620 ft
DELTA	4,368	2,863	90 ft	15–230 ft
LINCOLN	4,292	2,916	54 ft	25–154 ft
MONTROSE	4,143	2,634	68 ft	15–349 ft
ARCHULETA	4,036	2,613	140 ft	12–440 ft
PROWERS	3,888	2,464	100 ft	25–505 ft
RIO BLANCO	3,663	1,597	80 ft	19–630 ft
SAN MIGUEL	3,614	2,230	183 ft	30–500 ft
OTERO	3,532	2,431	40 ft	25–586 ft
LAKE	3,081	2,088	114 ft	40–301 ft
PHILLIPS	2,899	1,565	273 ft	175–340 ft
BENT	2,478	1,757	80 ft	15–403 ft
SEDGWICK	2,360	1,582	100 ft	40–380 ft
MONTEZUMA	2,236	1,420	95 ft	20–350 ft
CHEYENNE	2,153	1,301	74 ft	25–335 ft
JACKSON	1,696	1,273	100 ft	25–260 ft
MINERAL	1,663	1,233	82 ft	30–251 ft
KIOWA	1,456	846	64 ft	32–171 ft
OURAY	1,375	908	220 ft	53–507 ft
HINSDALE	1,334	882	91 ft	28–390 ft