The Dawson aquifer
14,024 permits — 2.3% of the register — are recorded against this aquifer.
What this aquifer is
the shallowest of the four named Denver Basin aquifers.
Which aquifer a well draws on is not administrative detail: the Denver Basin formations have their own legal regime, and alluvial water is tied to the surface stream, which is why it is regulated differently. The depth below is the practical consequence.
| Measurement | Median | 90th percentile | Colorado median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depth | 320 ft | 505 ft | 148 ft — deeper here (9,796 permits, 70 %) |
| Yield | 11 gpm | 15 gpm | 10 gpm — higher here (7,847 permits, 56 %) |
| Static water level | 140 ft | 255 ft | 58 ft — higher here (9,580 permits, 68 %) |
Where they are
| County | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| El Paso | 10,202 | 72.7% |
| Douglas | 2,124 | 15.1% |
| Elbert | 1,138 | 8.1% |
| Arapahoe | 493 | 3.5% |
| Adams | 12 | 0.1% |
| Weld | 11 | 0.1% |
| Jefferson | 11 | 0.1% |
| Larimer | 4 | 0.0% |
| Archuleta | 3 | 0.0% |
| Park | 3 | 0.0% |
| Bent | 2 | 0.0% |
| Teller | 2 | 0.0% |
| Mesa | 2 | 0.0% |
| Clear Creek | 2 | 0.0% |
| Otero | 1 | 0.0% |
| Denver | 1 | 0.0% |
| Pueblo | 1 | 0.0% |
| Rio Grande | 1 | 0.0% |
| Morgan | 1 | 0.0% |
| Washington | 1 | 0.0% |
| Ouray | 1 | 0.0% |
| Summit | 1 | 0.0% |
| Lincoln | 1 | 0.0% |
What happened to these permits
8,860 of the 14,024 permits on this aquifer ended with a well the Division was told about — 63.2%. And 1,957 expired without one: 14.0%.
An expired permit is the trap in a rural sale. A seller can produce a permit that lapsed years ago, and a permit is not a water right — the two are separate, and a purchase turns on both. What an expired permit does and does not mean.
| Status | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Well Constructed | 8,860 | 63.2% |
| Permit Expired | 1,957 | 14.0% |
| Permit Canceled | 785 | 5.6% |
| Well Abandoned | 537 | 3.8% |
| Application Information Requested | 520 | 3.7% |
| Permit Issued | 516 | 3.7% |
| NA | 316 | 2.3% |
| Well Replaced - Abandonment Required | 184 | 1.3% |
| Application Withdrawn | 96 | 0.7% |
| Application Denied | 61 | 0.4% |
Buying land in Colorado, or need a well drilled?
14,024 well permits are on the Division’s register in Colorado, 1,957 of them expired. This site tells you what a permit says; it does not drill, and it is not advice on a water right. Tell us where and we pass the request to drillers and water-rights advisers working in Colorado.
We take no commission and we recommend no driller. We have no arrangement with any firm today — we are collecting these requests in order to go and find them. What we do with this.
The other aquifers
- All Unnamed Aquifers 465,783
- Not stated 19,134
- Denver 13,929
- Alluvial 13,890
- Ogallala 11,241
- Arapahoe 9,456
- Laramie Fox Hills 7,796
- Upper Dawson 6,943
- Quaternary Alluvium 5,403
- Lower Dawson 4,944
- Unconfined San Luis Vall 3,975
- Unconfined San Luis Valley Aquifer 3,520
- Laramie-fox Hills 2,605
- Confined San Luis Valley 2,551
- Upper Arapahoe 2,224
- Lower Arapahoe 2,084
- Dakota 1,758
- Confined San Luis Valley Aquifer 1,683