Colorado · counties
Water in El Paso County
What the state and federal record says about water across El Paso County. Each figure names the agency it came from.
Can I drill a well here?
It depends on your lot: its size, and when it was created
-
Where the lot decides (over-appropriated ground)
What a household well may serve depends on the lot's size and on when and how it was created:
Lot of 35 acres or more
A household well can serve up to three homes, one acre of lawn and garden, and livestock. A 35-acre tract platted as part of a subdivision counts as part of the subdivision instead.
Under 35 acres, created before June 1, 1972 or by a county exemption
A household well for use inside one house only. No lawn, garden or livestock.
Under 35 acres, in a subdivision approved June 1, 1972 or later
No well by right. DWR weighs every well in the subdivision together, so in practice the subdivision's own water supply plan decides what a well may do.
-
Inside a designated groundwater basin
The Ground Water Commission's small-capacity rule applies instead: up to 50 gallons a minute and 5 acre-feet a year, for up to three homes and one acre.
-
On a rule boundary
A basin or over-appropriation line crosses these sections, so the answer turns on where on the lot the well would sit.
- Designated basins here: Kiowa Bijou, Upper Big Sandy, Upper Black Squirrel Creek.
- Groundwater management districts here can set tighter limits than the statute: Big Sandy, Upper Black Squirrel Creek.
- One exempt well per legal parcel. Inside a town or a water district's service area DWR generally issues no household well permit.
What has actually been permitted in El Paso County
- 4,451household well permits issued since 2015
- 255of them for use inside the house only
- 4,196for full household use
- 400feet, the typical depth
- 11gallons a minute, the typical yield
CDSS well permits Decided by: DWR, at permit application. Appeals go to the water judge within 35 days.
- 3,456 Live water rights across 2,162 square miles
- 29,456 Wells drilled across 2,162 square miles
- 116 ac Irrigated ground across 2,162 square miles
- 260 ft Well depth middle value across 1,577 of 2,162 square miles
- 364 days Days called out middle value across 475 of 2,162 square miles
Point at any square mile to read what is on it. Hover the maps below to compare them.
El Paso County by the square mile
Each figure below is one number for the whole county. The map places the same records on the ground, square mile by square mile.
Live water rights. Decreed rights still on the books. This is where the paper water is, which is not the same map as where anybody drilled.
- none on record (bare ground)
- up to 1
- 2
- 3
- 4 to 6
- 7 to 16
- over 16
2,162 surveyed sections, drawn one square mile to a square. The shading is scaled against every county in Colorado, so a color means the same thing on any of these pages. The outline is the county boundary from the Census Bureau: ground inside the line and outside the shading is ground nobody has drilled, filed on or addressed. Aerial imagery is the USGS National Map.
Water here is called out for a large part of the year
The median right is out of priority 363 days a year on DWR's own analysis, against 170 days in the median county. The worst year on record here was 366 days.
DWR administrative call analysis 1 of 49 counties
363 days here 1st of 49 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Wells here have had to be re-drilled deeper
118 wells carry a later record more than 20% deeper than their first. Colorado publishes no water-level trend, so a well going back down is the closest thing to one.
CDSS well permit action history 2 of 62 counties
118 here 2nd of 62 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Water systems here have unresolved health violations
11 of this county's 75 community water systems carry a health-based violation that has not been returned to compliance. Health-based means contamination or a treatment failure, not late paperwork.
EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System 2 of 45 counties
11 here 2nd of 45 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Wells here have to go a long way down
The typical well is 295 feet deep, against 105 ft in the median county, drawing not stated. Depth is the cost before the water is.
CDSS well permits 3 of 64 counties
295 ft here 3rd of 64 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Towns hold a large share of the water here
47% of rights allow municipal use, against 10% in the median county. Municipal rights are senior more often than not and rarely come back on the market, so they shape what is left for everyone else.
CDSS water rights, net amounts 4 of 58 counties
47% here 4th of 58 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
There are dams here that would take lives if they failed
28 of this county's 175 dams are rated high hazard. Hazard is about what is DOWNSTREAM rather than about the dam's condition, so a high-hazard rating means people or roads below it, and it is what drives the inspection and the owner's liability.
Colorado Dam Safety 4 of 56 counties
28 here 4th of 56 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
The water table here sits far below the surface
The median static water level is 140 feet down, against 48 ft in the median county. That is pumping cost every day the well runs.
CDSS well permits 5 of 64 counties
140 ft here 5th of 64 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Many decrees here name a structure that no longer exists
19% of rights attach to a structure DWR marks abandoned, historical or non-existent, against 5% in the median county. A decree citing a ditch that is gone is a title problem, not a water supply.
CDSS water rights, net amounts 6 of 60 counties
19% here 6th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Water here changes hands and moves
21% of rights carry a transfer, exchange or alternate point event. An active market means a price exists, and it also means water can leave the ground it started on.
CDSS water rights, net amounts 8 of 60 counties
21% here 8th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Much of this county sits in a designated groundwater basin
34% of well permits are inside UPPER BLACK SQUIRREL CREEK, where new permits are restricted or unavailable. Before anything else about water here, find out whether you can get one.
CDSS well permits 9 of 18 counties
34% here 9th of 18 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Dams here are rated unsatisfactory
4 of this county's 175 dams carry an unsatisfactory condition rating. A storage right behind a failing dam is water you cannot count on.
Colorado Dam Safety 12 of 43 counties
4 here 12th of 43 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Structures here have measured years where nothing came through
45% of measured structures recorded at least one year diverting nothing. A decree does not stop a headgate running dry.
DWR diversion records 14 of 60 counties
45% here 14th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
There are many impoundments here with no decreed storage right
565 reservoirs of record carry no storage decree. Each one is a question somebody has not answered.
CDSS structures 9 of 58 counties
565 here 9th of 58 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Water here is still being fought over
599 water court applications named this county since 2021, the most recent in 2026. Every one is a public document you can read.
Colorado water court resumes 9 of 60 counties
599 here 9th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Wells here get plugged and abandoned more than most
12.6% of well permits end in a plugging, 3,506 wells in all. A well sealed shut is the clearest verdict a driller ever files.
CDSS well permit action history 23 of 64 counties
12.6% here 23rd of 64 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Ground here is prime farmland, but only if it is irrigated
40% of sections carry soil the USDA classes as 'prime farmland if irrigated'. That qualifier is the whole sentence: the soil is excellent and the classification depends on water reaching it. It is what an appraiser and a conservation easement both test against.
USDA SSURGO soil survey 34 of 56 counties
40% here 34th of 56 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
For one parcel in El Paso County
The figures above describe the whole county. The Land, Development and Rights reports answer for one parcel: what water conveys, what a well permit would allow, and what the county requires to split it. Each answer gives the evidence within a mile and who decides.
Search an address in El Paso County