The Denver aquifer
13,929 permits — 2.3% of the register — are recorded against this aquifer.
What this aquifer is
a named Denver Basin aquifer, below the Dawson.
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 | 465 ft | 830 ft | 148 ft — deeper here (8,533 permits, 61 %) |
| Yield | 11 gpm | 15 gpm | 10 gpm — higher here (6,623 permits, 48 %) |
| Static water level | 210 ft | 450 ft | 58 ft — higher here (8,047 permits, 58 %) |
Where they are
| County | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| El Paso | 4,407 | 31.6% |
| Douglas | 2,839 | 20.4% |
| Elbert | 2,596 | 18.6% |
| Arapahoe | 2,391 | 17.2% |
| Adams | 761 | 5.5% |
| Jefferson | 470 | 3.4% |
| Denver | 307 | 2.2% |
| Weld | 61 | 0.4% |
| Boulder | 22 | 0.2% |
| Sedgwick | 9 | 0.1% |
| Washington | 6 | 0.0% |
| Larimer | 6 | 0.0% |
| Prowers | 5 | 0.0% |
| Park | 5 | 0.0% |
| Lincoln | 4 | 0.0% |
| Pueblo | 4 | 0.0% |
| Clear Creek | 3 | 0.0% |
| Bent | 3 | 0.0% |
| Baca | 3 | 0.0% |
| Las Animas | 3 | 0.0% |
| Yuma | 2 | 0.0% |
| Otero | 2 | 0.0% |
| Morgan | 2 | 0.0% |
| Garfield | 2 | 0.0% |
| Crowley | 1 | 0.0% |
| Routt | 1 | 0.0% |
What happened to these permits
7,693 of the 13,929 permits on this aquifer ended with a well the Division was told about — 55.2%. And 2,171 expired without one: 15.6%.
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 | 7,693 | 55.2% |
| Permit Expired | 2,171 | 15.6% |
| NA | 1,265 | 9.1% |
| Permit Canceled | 715 | 5.1% |
| Well Abandoned | 576 | 4.1% |
| Permit Issued | 487 | 3.5% |
| Application Information Requested | 453 | 3.3% |
| Well Replaced - Abandonment Required | 159 | 1.1% |
| Application Withdrawn | 143 | 1.0% |
| Application Received | 63 | 0.5% |
Buying land in Colorado, or need a well drilled?
13,929 well permits are on the Division’s register in Colorado, 2,171 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
- Dawson 14,024
- 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