Cost of deep wells ???

westcliffe01 · Feb 9, 2023

My wife was looking at a piece of land in CO. So I sent the nearest well driller an email asking about wells in the area and the response was one should bargain on 600-850 ft and an all up cost from $70-100k. Drilling and casing $80/foot. Anyone's first thoughts on that news ???

Back in 2012 I met with a well driller in a different county where pretty much all drilling is through hard rock in the mountains and the estimate was for 500ft at a price of about $26k. Something has become a lot more expensive in 10 years and it was not gas, thats for sure...

tractortroof · Feb 9, 2023

It differs greatly from place to place, even within the same city. It seems the drillers know what areas are more difficult. Around here 650 feet is $7-10k probably 30% more now

Roadworthy · Feb 9, 2023

Go shopping for a property that already has a well.

/pine · Feb 9, 2023

So glad we are blessed with mountain spring water and gravity...
Water is about 58* and regularly tests better than the neighbors drilled well...have to use a pressure regulator to lower the pressure...!

Drilled wells here (lower Appalachia) with lots of granite is about $15/foot...depth really depends on where (elev. wise) on a mountain the home site is...

ponytug · Feb 9, 2023

Not far off the prices here for a well that deep. One nearby was 700', for around $100k.

It is very very site dependent, and especially geology and hydrologically dependent. E.g. gabbro vs sand, accessible aquifer vs rock fractures for water. No guarantees.

All the best,

Peter

westcliffe01 · Feb 9, 2023

more than 90% of lots are undeveloped. Very few lots where the buyer has invested in a well prior to building.

westcliffe01 · Feb 9, 2023

tractortroof said:
It differs greatly from place to place, even within the same city. It seems the drillers know what areas are more difficult. Around here 650 feet is $7-10k probably 30% more now

Thats $14.28 a foot... Vs $80 a foot ?

newbury · Feb 9, 2023

And here in the east I suffer with about 35 gallons/sq ft falling annually

LS Tractor Owner · Feb 9, 2023

Our last well was drilled at 500' and it cost us $25K. That was 10 years ago....

The prices can really vary though, we had prices / bids as high as $50K.

Jstpssng · Feb 9, 2023

The worst part is they really don't know how far down they will go before hitting water, so the only way that they can even give a ballpark price is based on depth of nearby wells. In this state all wells are entered into a database so that you can get that information. I'm not sure if that's the case where you are.

caver · Feb 9, 2023

I was watching some woman's Yt vids (Spirit Forest) on a house she was having built in the mountains of CO. She mentioned a monthly fee after the well was drilled due to water rights.

Citydude · Feb 9, 2023

I had a quote of $34 a foot in 2019. Didn't get drilled until 2022 at $55 a foot.

stumblinhorse · Feb 9, 2023

westcliffe01 said:
My wife was looking at a piece of land in CO. So I sent the nearest well driller an email asking about wells in the area and the response was one should bargain on 600-850 ft and an all up cost from $70-100k. Drilling and casing $80/foot. Anyone's first thoughts on that news ???

Back in 2012 I met with a well driller in a different county where pretty much all drilling is through hard rock in the mountains and the estimate was for 500ft at a price of about $26k. Something has become a lot more expensive in 10 years and it was not gas, thats for sure...

There is a lot that you can do to determine and budget for a well. If you need help let me know. All well info is public and online in CO.

scootr · Feb 10, 2023

20 some yrs ago we bought a property with a well. It went dry 6 months after we moved in. The Driller said $25 a foot plus casing, wire, & pump. We ended up going 500 ft. Casing every bit of it and putting in a new electric panel, 4200 gal holding tanks, 2 bladder tanks and related pumps. It was 30k when the dust settled and we ended up with a second mortgage on the place.

bdhsfz6 · Feb 10, 2023

Initial well costs are one thing but consider the future. If you drill the first well in a subdivision, it may have to be deepened if the water table drops when subsequent wells are drilled.

My neighbors well was initially 300'. When I drilled my 500' well 6 months later, his went dry and he had to drill another 200'.

There are a lot of variables involved but certainly something to consider when pricing a well.

stumblinhorse · Feb 10, 2023

Yes, there a lot of scary stories of wells being drilled. But in CO it is a daily thing to dig a well. The key is to pick a property that has water. That isn’t too difficult. There are a lot of resources that are available to you to figure out if the area you are in is good or not good for a well. In the past, I mean way past, people put the house in a location where there was probably water. Nowadays people put the house in a location for the “view”. Make sure the lot you buy has those locations in the same spot.

JJT · Feb 10, 2023

A friend just drilled a well, he called around, nobody would quote a price per foot. Turnkey well and pump ranged from $10K to $15K. They went 300', 20' of casing and hit 5 gallons a minute and installed a 1/2 hp pump, for $10K. The contract was for up to 500', or 5 gallons per minute, no more than 100' of casing, firm fixed price.

npalen · Feb 10, 2023

Our well was drilled next to the house in '76 to a depth of 31 feet and we've been using it for lawn irrigation at about 10 GPM ever since. I don't remember the cost but if it was over a thousand or two we would not have been able to afford it. The driller hit a rock at 31 feet.

TristanDickey · Feb 10, 2023

westcliffe01 said:
My wife was looking at a piece of land in CO. So I sent the nearest well driller an email asking about wells in the area and the response was one should bargain on 600-850 ft and an all up cost from $70-100k. Drilling and casing $80/foot. Anyone's first thoughts on that news ???

Back in 2012 I met with a well driller in a different county where pretty much all drilling is through hard rock in the mountains and the estimate was for 500ft at a price of about $26k. Something has become a lot more expensive in 10 years and it was not gas, thats for sure...

Its different for every state. Ours is 650 feet cost us start to finish around $12,000