Quick Facts...
- Prior to drilling a ground water well in Colorado, you must have a
permit from the Colorado Division of Water Resources, also known as
the State Engineer’s Office.
- Most private domestic wells in Colorado are “exempt” from
administration in the priority system and do not require augmentation.
- Wells for most other uses, such as irrigation, are considered “non-exempt”
and are administered within the priority system.
Ground water wells are the principle source of water for most homeowners
in rural areas of Colorado. There are over 200,000 permits for ground
water wells currently issued in our state and approximately 11,000 new
permits are requested annually. Most of these wells are used for households
and are considered “exempt” from the administration within the
water rights priority system. They require a permit from the State Engineer,
and are limited to 15 gallons of water per minute. Some exempt wells are
further limited to in-house use only when lot sizes are smaller than 35
acres.
Wells for most other uses, such as irrigation, are considered “non-exempt”
and are administered within the priority system. Their use is limited
by the terms of the permit, and since they are junior in priority, they
must have augmentation plans to replace water to the stream system in
over-appropriated basins.
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Rural domestic well in the foothills.
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Ground water is found in formations called aquifers that occur throughout
the state. An aquifer is a geologic formation made up of porous material
such as sand, gravel, and unconsolidated rocks. It may also consist of
spaces or fractures between subterranean rocks that are saturated with
water. Aquifers may be as shallow as a few feet, or as deep as thousands
of feet below the ground surface. Wells in mountainous areas of the Front
Range typically average 350 feet deep; while in eastern Colorado, over
the Ogallala aquifer, they average less than 300 feet deep. Ground water
originates as precipitation that moves downward from the earth’s
surface until it reaches the water-saturated zone and becomes ground water.
Aquifers may spread hundreds of miles or may be in small, localized areas.
Alluvial or tributary ground water moves through the aquifer, where it
eventually joins a surface stream. Other aquifers are classified as non-tributary
because the ground water neither contributes to, nor draws from, a natural
stream.
The quantity and quality of available ground water is usually difficult
to determine prior to drilling because underground geology varies and
because local ground water supplies and quality differ. Ground water quality
in Colorado ranges from excellent in some of the deep aquifers to poor
in some of the alluvial aquifers where surface and ground water have been
contaminated from agriculture, industry, or urban development. The only
reliable way to determine the suitability of a water supply for drinking
water is through a laboratory analysis for bacteria and chemical constituents.
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Cutaway of a typical private well and water supply system.
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The amount of water obtained from a well can vary tremendously over a
short distance due to changes in subsurface geology. In addition, wells
can go dry during times of drought or when an aquifer is over-pumped.
As a rule of thumb, each person in the household requires 75 gallons of
water per day to satisfy the basic human needs. For a typical household,
that means the well should produce a minimum of one-half gallon per minute
(0.5 gpm) or 30 gallons per hour to be acceptable as a water supply. Wells
that are low producing (<1 gpm) often need an additional storage tank
to buffer high water use periods, even though a typical 6 inch well bore
hole will store about 1.5 gallons of water per linear foot of water depth.
The uncertainty of ground water quality and quantity, coupled with the
complexity of the water laws and management in Colorado, is often disconcerting
to new homeowners. This fact sheet answers some basic questions on the
rules that govern the use of private wells for home water supplies in
Colorado. If you rely on a private well for your water supply or if you
are in the process of purchasing property where a well will have to be
drilled, the following questions may be helpful in understanding your
situation.
How do I get a well permit for my property?
Contact the Office of the State Engineer to apply for a permit. Forms are
available online at http://water.state.co.us/pubs/wellforms.asp. In most
cases, a licensed water well driller will help you fill out and submit
the required paperwork. Once the form is completed and construction reports
are filed with the State Engineer, most well permits are good for the
life of the well and do not need to be renewed.
What is the difference between “exempt” and “non-exempt”
wells?
In simple terms, exempt wells do not require an augmentation plan, while
most non-exempt wells do require an augmentation plan.
Most homeowner wells in Colorado are exempt. Exempt wells are not administered
under the “first in time, first in right” priority system used
to allocate water in our state. Exempt wells are generally limited to
15 gpm and require non-evaporative wastewater systems such as septic tanks
and leach fields. It is generally presumed that these non-evaporative
wastewater systems consume about 10 percent of the total water pumped.
The rest of the water is returned to the hydrologic system via percolation
back to the ground water.
Are there different types of exempt wells?
Yes. The two most common types of exempt wells for homeowners are Household-Use
Only Wells and Domestic and Livestock Wells.
Household-Use Only Wells: Most private wells drilled on or after
May 8, 1972 on properties less than 35 acres are permitted for exempt
household-use only. Water can be used only inside the home. Water cannot
be used to irrigate lawns, gardens, windbreaks, livestock, or any other
outside use.
Domestic and Livestock Wells: If you own property that is 35 acres
or larger, you can usually get a domestic and livestock well. Only one
of these wells is allowed per parcel. The well may serve up to three single-family
dwellings, irrigate one acre or less of lawn and garden, and provide water
for domestic animals and livestock.
Water use from exempt, residential wells within designated ground water
basins, the Denver Basin, and limited areas on the Western Slope, may
be less restrictive than indicated above.
What is a non-exempt well?
Most non-exempt wells require an augmentation plan. An augmentation plan is
a plan to replace depletions from water pumped from a non-exempt well.
Most wells on single-home residential properties are exempt and do not
require an augmentation plan. Water systems on multi-home subdivisions
often are non-exempt and require an augmentation plan.
Why do non-exempt wells require an augmentation plan?
If you are a new water user, your water rights are “junior”
to existing “senior” water rights. Under Colorado law, senior
rights have priority (first in time, first in right). Junior rights cannot
remove water from the system if the removal will impair the supply available
to a senior right.
Ground water and surface water are hydraulically connected. Pumping water
from a new well could reduce the amount of water available to senior water
rights holders, even if the senior right is using surface water and the
junior right is using ground water. To prevent this “injury”
to the senior right, junior water users must have an augmentation plan.
An augmentation plan is a plan to replace depletions from water pumped
from the well to prevent injury to senior rights. Depletions must be replaced
in time, amount, and location.
If you wish to install a non-exempt well, you will need an augmentation
plan approved by the water court. Augmentation water often must be purchased,
so typically water user organizations are formed to develop and review
augmentation plans. Most likely, you will need to hire a water attorney
and a water resource engineer to help with the design and approval of
an augmentation plan.
I am purchasing a property with an existing well that is not registered. What
kind of use is allowed?
Unregistered exempt wells in use prior to May 8, 1972 can be permitted
for historic uses, that is, those uses that were in place before May 8,
1972, if those uses are no greater than those allowed for a domestic and
livestock well permit.
Exempt wells installed on or after May 8, 1972 must have a permit. Wells
drilled without permits after this date were installed illegally.
I am purchasing a property with an abandoned well. What should I do?
The State Engineer’s Office has rules that require old wells that
are no longer used to be properly plugged and abandoned. The existing
owner has the responsibility to comply with these regulations.
The Division of Water Resources issued me a “household-use only”
permit, but the neighbors have permits that allow livestock water. Why
can’t I get a domestic and livestock well permit?
The most likely reason is that the neighbor’s well was installed
prior to May 8, 1972 and the livestock use was already in existence.
Are these rules the same everywhere?
These are general rules that are in place and apply to much of Colorado,
but there are many exceptions. Exceptions include designated ground water
basins in eastern Colorado and the Denver Basin along the Front Range.
The Colorado Ground Water Commission administers water use in the designated
basins.
How can I get a copy of my well permit?
To get a copy of a well permit, contact the records section of the Colorado
Division of Water Resources at (303) 866-3447 between the hours of 10:00
a.m. and 3:30 p.m. For best service, have the well permit number, location
of well (quarter section, township, and range), original owner who constructed
the well, other prior owners, or the subdivision lot and block ready for
the staff member so they can easily locate your well in the database.
How do I select a drilling contractor?
Ask your neighbors and your homebuilder for recommendations. Be sure
the contractor is licensed in Colorado and find out if recent customers
are satisfied with the service provided. If you are still uncertain on
how to proceed, you can check with the nearest Colorado Division of Water
Resources branch office, or staff for the Colorado Board of Examiners,
at (303) 866-3581.
Questions to ask when buying rural property:
If a well is present:
1) When was the well drilled?
2) Is the well registered with the Colorado Division of Water Resources?
3) If drilled on or after May 8, 1972, was the well properly permitted?
4) May I see the well permit, well completion report, and pump installation
report?
5) Is the permit for “household-use only” or for “domestic
and livestock use”?
6) Who installed the well?
7) How deep is the well?
8) Do you have a copy of the water quality tests performed on the well
water?
9) How many gallons per minute (gpm) does the well produce?
10) Is the well at least 100 feet from a septic system leach field?
If a well is not present:
1) Has anyone tried to get a well permit for the property?
2) If a permit has been issued but a well has not been drilled, is the
permit still valid?
3) How deep have neighbors had to drill to get water?
4) Have neighbors had problems with water quality?
5) Is there room on the property to install a well and a septic system
separated by 100 feet?
Additional Information
For more information on ground water and your right to use it, contact
Ground Water Information at the Colorado Division of Water Resources at
(303) 866-3587 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. A great deal of information
is also available online at http://water.state.co.us/groundwater/groundwater.asp.
Other CSU Extension fact sheets that may be helpful include:
9.307, Drinking Water Quality and Health; 0.513, Domestic Water Quality
Criteria; 4.717, Glossary of Water Terminology; and 0.520, Selecting an
Analytical Laboratory. CSU Extension bulletin XCM-179, BMPs
for Private Well Protection is another useful resource.
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