Colorado ยท county water record
Water in Teller County
What the state and federal record says about water here, before you look at any particular piece of ground. Every finding names the agency it came from.
- 1,451 Live water rights across 556 square miles
- 7,522 Wells drilled across 556 square miles
- 17 ac Irrigated ground across 556 square miles
- 280 ft Well depth middle value across 340 of 556 square miles
- 309 days Days called out middle value across 252 of 556 square miles
Point at any square mile to read what is on it. Hover the maps below to compare them.
Teller County by the square mile
Every finding on this page is one number for the whole county. These are the same records placed on the ground they came from.
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
556 surveyed sections, drawn one square mile to a square. The shading is scaled against every county in Colorado, so a colour 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.
Stands out
Wells here make very little water
The typical well makes 6 gallons a minute, against 12 gpm across the state. Workable for a house, a problem for livestock or irrigation.
CDSS well permits 2 of 60 counties
6 gpm here 2nd of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
Most water here is household-only and cannot legally do more
8% of rights are limited to household use under C.R.S. 37-92-602, against 0% across the state. That means no irrigation, no livestock, and no second dwelling on the same well.
CDSS water rights, net amounts 3 of 36 counties
8% here 3rd of 36 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
Water systems here have unresolved health violations
10 of this county's 24 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 3 of 44 counties
10 here 3rd of 44 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
Nobody measures what most structures here divert
79% of rights sit on structures where DWR keeps no diversion record, against 51% across the state. There is no way to check the paper against what actually came through.
CDSS water rights, net amounts 4 of 60 counties
79% here 4th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
Soil here holds water at the surface rather than letting it through
99% of sections have hydrologic group D soil, against 83% across the state, the slowest-infiltrating class. Good ground for a stock pond, which will hold without lining. Bad ground for a septic absorption field and for well recharge, because one property drives all three.
USDA SSURGO soil survey 4 of 60 counties
99% here 4th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
Wells here have to go a long way down
The typical well is 260 feet deep, against 105 ft across the state, drawing not stated. Depth is the cost before the water is.
CDSS well permits 5 of 60 counties
260 ft here 5th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
It takes a long time to get from permit to water here
The median well takes 62 days from permit issue to completion, against 23 days across the state. Worth knowing before you plan a build around drilling next spring.
CDSS well permit action history 5 of 60 counties
62 days here 5th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
Dams here are rated unsatisfactory
8 of this county's 66 dams carry an unsatisfactory condition rating. A storage right behind a failing dam is water you cannot count on.
Colorado Dam Safety 5 of 42 counties
8 here 5th of 42 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
A lot of this county is wet ground
68% of sections carry poorly drained soil, meaning a water table close to the surface for part of the year. A foundation and septic constraint, and often the most productive ground on a property.
USDA SSURGO soil survey 12 of 59 counties
68% here 12th of 59 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
Towns hold a large share of the water here
21% of rights allow municipal use. 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 15 of 58 counties
21% here 15th of 58 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
There are many impoundments here with no decreed storage right
77 reservoirs of record carry no storage decree. Each one is a question somebody has not answered.
CDSS structures 13 of 58 counties
77 here 13th of 58 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
This is the county. Your question is probably a property.
None of the above is about a particular parcel. Water is not parcel-shaped: the ditch serving the ground runs through other people's land and the senior right that curtails it sits somewhere else, which is why the state files by survey section rather than by property. Check an address and you get the square mile it sits in, with the wells, the rights and what was actually diverted.
Check a property in Teller County