Well permits in Baca County
5,424 well permits — 0.9% of Colorado’s register. The median well here is 270 feet deep, against 148 feet statewide.
5,424Permits
270 ftMedian depth
939Expired
0Denver Basin aquifer
How deep people drill in Baca County
This is the part a buyer actually wants, and it is not published anywhere else. The figures below are medians over the permits where the Division was told — a mean would be carried away by a handful of industrial wells.
| Measurement | Median | 90th percentile | Colorado median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depth | 270 ft | 496 ft | 148 ft — deeper here (3,227 permits, 59 %) |
| Yield | 650 gpm | 1500 gpm | 10 gpm — higher here (911 permits, 17 %) |
| Static water level | 125 ft | 235 ft | 58 ft — higher here (2,361 permits, 44 %) |
What the permits allow
A well permit is not a general right to water: it names what the water may be used for, and the narrowest of them — household use only — means inside the house and nothing else.
| Decreed use | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Irrigation | 2,904 | 53.5% |
| Stock | 1,206 | 22.2% |
| Domestic | 600 | 11.1% |
| Monitoring/sampling | 279 | 5.1% |
| Commercial | 145 | 2.7% |
| Not stated | 130 | 2.4% |
| Other | 64 | 1.2% |
| Municipal | 47 | 0.9% |
| Industrial | 33 | 0.6% |
| Household Use Only | 11 | 0.2% |
| Geothermal | 3 | 0.1% |
| Fishery | 1 | 0.0% |
What happened to these permits
1,760 of the 5,424 permits in Baca County ended with a well the Division was told about — 32.4%. And 939 expired without one: 17.3%.
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 | 1,760 | 32.4% |
| Final Permit | 1,024 | 18.9% |
| Permit Expired | 939 | 17.3% |
| Permit Canceled | 404 | 7.4% |
| Permit Issued | 336 | 6.2% |
| Application Information Requested | 304 | 5.6% |
| Well Abandoned | 227 | 4.2% |
| Application Denied | 115 | 2.1% |
| Application Received | 88 | 1.6% |
| Application Withdrawn | 52 | 1.0% |
Which aquifers
| Aquifer | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| All Unnamed Aquifers | 2,791 | 51.5% |
| Southern High Plains | 735 | 13.6% |
| Dakota | 410 | 7.6% |
| Ogallala | 366 | 6.7% |
| Cheyenne | 361 | 6.7% |
| Southern High Plains Aquifer | 278 | 5.1% |
| Dockum | 170 | 3.1% |
| Not stated | 153 | 2.8% |
| Dakota Sandstone | 45 | 0.8% |
| Cheyenne Sandstone | 39 | 0.7% |
When the permits were issued
| Issued in | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 302 | 5.6% |
| 2010s | 563 | 10.4% |
| 2000s | 588 | 10.8% |
| 1990s | 357 | 6.6% |
| 1980s | 176 | 3.2% |
| 1970s | 783 | 14.4% |
| 1960s | 956 | 17.6% |
| 1950s | 216 | 4.0% |
| 1930s | 1 | 0.0% |
Buying land in Baca County, or need a well drilled?
5,424 well permits are on the Division’s register in Baca County, 939 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.
Permits on record in Baca County
| Subdivision, or the permit number | Status | Decreed use | Depth (ft) | Yield (gpm) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution 99-25 permit 305235- | Well Constructed | Stock | 400 | 0 | 2017 |
| J's Addition permit 301786- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 200 | 10 | 2016 |
| B & B Addition permit 290301- | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 340 | 0 | 2015 |
| Sunset Addition (filing: 2) permit 285107- | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 380 | 20 | 1998 |
| Kirkwood (filing: 1) permit 215260- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 140 | 0 | 1999 |
| Kirkwood (filing: 1) permit 35148-MH | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 140 | 0 | 1998 |
| Campo permit 32900-F-R | Well Constructed | Municipal | 460 | 0 | 1999 |
| Pd4082bh10208 permit 127301--A | Well Constructed | Stock | 380 | 20 | 1991 |
| Pd4382bh90740 permit 156851- | Well Constructed | Stock | 240 | 5 | 1990 |
| Pd4382bh90740 permit 156849- | Well Constructed | Stock | 120 | 3 | 1990 |
| J's Addition permit 137380--A | Well Constructed | Stock | 178 | 0 | 1984 |
| Application Parcel Name Missing permit 121532- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 0 | 0 | 1981 |
| J's Addition permit 121531- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 140 | 0 | 1981 |
| Tipson Addition permit 88871- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 280 | 0 | 1977 |
| Arbuthnot Addition (filing: 2) permit 89927- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 280 | 15 | 1977 |
| Campo permit 92137- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 305 | 0 | 1977 |
| Stockyard Addition permit 83144- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 135 | 0 | 1976 |
| Tipton Addition permit 70448- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 100 | 50 | 1973 |
| Steward Addition permit 72562- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 200 | 50 | 1974 |
| Collingwood Addition permit 2733- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 152 | 0 | 1959 |
| J's Addition permit 137380- | Well Constructed | Stock | 200 | 0 | 1955 |
| Rinon de la Plata permit 119845- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 180 | 0 | 1983 |
| J's Addition permit 110900- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 275 | 0 | 1980 |
| J's Addition permit 115608- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 200 | 0 | 1981 |
| 2023-01 permit 343459- | Permit Issued | Domestic | 0 | 0 | 2026 |
| 2017-1 permit 304937- | Permit Issued | Irrigation | 0 | 0 | 2017 |
| Hel Farmstead Tract 5623 permit 298264- | Permit Expired | Stock | 0 | 0 | 2015 |
| Butler permit 76122--A | Permit Expired (Pump Installed) | Household Use Only | 0 | 10 | 2008 |
| Kirkwood (filing: 1) permit 215015- | Permit Expired | Domestic | 0 | 0 | 1999 |
| Willow Height permit 34221-MH | Permit Expired | Monitoring/sampling | 0 | 0 | 1998 |
| Sunset (filing: 2) permit 49741-F | Permit Expired | Domestic | 380 | 20 | 1998 |
| Willow Heights permit 212154- | Permit Expired | Domestic | 0 | 0 | 1998 |
| Po4382bh20456 permit 128600--A | Permit Issued | Stock | 0 | 0 | 1992 |
| J Addition permit 165069- | Permit Issued | Domestic | 0 | 0 | 1992 |
| Pd4082bh10208 permit 120075--A | Permit Issued | Stock | 0 | 0 | 1991 |
| Pd4382bh90740 permit 156850- | Permit Expired (Pump Installed) | Stock | 200 | 5 | 1990 |
| Campo permit 32900-FP | Final Permit | Municipal | 440 | 200 | 1987 |
| J's Addition permit 25511-F | Permit Expired | Irrigation | 0 | 0 | 1982 |
| J's Addition permit 123869- | Permit Issued | Domestic | 0 | 0 | 1982 |
| J's Addition permit 123870- | Permit Issued | Domestic | 0 | 0 | 1982 |
| Kirkwood (filing: 1) | Application Information Requested | Irrigation | 0 | 0 | — |
| J's Addition permit 122421- | Permit Expired | Domestic | 0 | 0 | — |
| Herbert Addition permit 662-R | Permit Canceled | Commercial | 0 | 0 | — |
| 90705-F | Well Constructed | Commercial | 100 | 0 | 1961 |
| 91112-F | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 370 | 0 | 1959 |
| 91113-F | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 225 | 0 | 1962 |
| 91114-F | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 0 | 0 | 1956 |
| 47866-FP-R | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 297 | 0 | 2026 |
| 342533- | Well Constructed | Stock | 638 | 0 | 2022 |
| 4812-FP-R | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 660 | 0 | 2025 |
| 4899-FP-R | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 660 | 0 | 2025 |
| 337113- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 136 | 0 | 2025 |
| 337083- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 500 | 25 | 2025 |
| 338468- | Well Constructed | Stock | 424 | 0 | 1973 |
| 338742- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 450 | 0 | 2025 |
| 2560-FP-R | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 560 | 0 | 2026 |
| 339828- | Well Constructed | Stock | 380 | 14 | 2025 |
| 336587- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 380 | 0 | 2025 |
| 88920-F | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 546 | 0 | 2014 |
| 128629--A | Well Constructed | Stock | 200 | 0 | 2024 |
| 333934- | Well Constructed | Stock | 440 | 0 | 2024 |
| 334650- | Well Constructed | Stock | 280 | 0 | 2024 |
| 335279- | Well Constructed | Stock | 160 | 6 | 2024 |
| 335295--A | Well Constructed | Stock | 340 | 0 | 2024 |
| 335873- | Well Constructed | Stock | 370 | 0 | 2025 |
| 77781--A | Well Constructed | Domestic | 740 | 25 | 2024 |
| 336334- | Well Constructed | Stock | 360 | 0 | 2025 |
| 336750- | Well Constructed | Stock | 420 | 0 | 2025 |
| 87875-F | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 670 | 0 | 2020 |
| 87876-F | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 0 | 0 | 1961 |
| 87877-F | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 0 | 0 | 1964 |
| 87878-F | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 0 | 0 | 1957 |
| 87879-F | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 0 | 0 | 1965 |
| 87880-F | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 0 | 0 | 1965 |
| 87845-FP | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 660 | 0 | 2023 |
| 329683- | Well Constructed | Stock | 295 | 0 | 2023 |
| 329704- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 500 | 0 | 2024 |
| 330062- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 28 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330063- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 26 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330064- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 33 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330065- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 25 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330066- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 28 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330067- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 28 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330068- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 25 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330069- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 26 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330070- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 25 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330071- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 25 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330072- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 25 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330073- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 25 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330074- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 25 | 0 | 2022 |
| 330075- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 25 | 0 | 2022 |
| 330076- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 25 | 0 | 2022 |
| 330077- | Well Constructed | Monitoring/sampling | 18 | 0 | 2019 |
| 330598- | Well Constructed | Stock | 300 | 0 | 2023 |
| 17704-FP-R | Well Constructed | Irrigation | 560 | 350 | 2023 |
| 330714--A | Well Constructed | Stock | 260 | 0 | 2024 |
| 331371- | Well Constructed | Stock | 310 | 0 | 2024 |
| 331372- | Well Constructed | Stock | 360 | 0 | 2025 |
| 331379- | Well Constructed | Stock | 360 | 0 | 2025 |
| 331424- | Well Constructed | Stock | 300 | 0 | 2024 |
| 331895- | Well Constructed | Domestic | 205 | 15 | 2024 |
| 332227- | Well Constructed | Stock | 180 | 0 | 2024 |
| 331994--A | Well Constructed | Domestic | 500 | 20 | 2023 |
| 86721-F | Well Constructed | Stock | 10 | 0 | 1998 |
| 86722-F | Well Constructed | Stock | 10 | 0 | 2011 |
| 86723-F | Well Constructed | Stock | 10 | 0 | 2019 |
| 86724-F | Well Constructed | Stock | 10 | 0 | 2019 |
| 86725-F | Well Constructed | Stock | 10 | 0 | 2019 |
| 86726-F | Well Constructed | Stock | 10 | 0 | 2019 |
| 86727-F | Well Constructed | Stock | 10 | 0 | 2019 |
By decreed use in Baca County
- Irrigation in Baca County — 2,904
- Stock in Baca County — 1,206
Counties with a comparable register
- Routt 7,264
- Custer 6,916
- Kit Carson 6,777
- Mesa 6,494
- Conejos 5,774
- Washington 5,722
- Clear Creek 5,556
- Pitkin 4,805
- Eagle 4,742
- Gilpin 4,606
- Moffat 4,379
- Costilla 4,256
- Huerfano 4,190
Neighbours by the size of their register, not a ranking: the list slides with the county you are on, so each of the 63 county pages is reachable from the others. All of them.