Colorado ยท county water record
Water in El Paso 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.
- 3,445 Live water rights across 2,162 square miles
- 29,433 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
- 236 days Days called out middle value across 463 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
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
2,162 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 have had to be re-drilled deeper
121 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 59 counties
121 here 2nd of 59 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
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 44 counties
11 here 2nd of 44 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
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. The worst year on record here was 366 days.
DWR administrative call analysis 3 of 20 counties
363 days here 3rd of 20 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 295 feet deep, against 105 ft across the state, drawing not stated. Depth is the cost before the water is.
CDSS well permits 3 of 60 counties
295 ft here 3rd of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
The water table here sits far below the surface
The median static water level is 140 feet down, against 46 ft across the state. That is pumping cost every day the well runs.
CDSS well permits 3 of 60 counties
140 ft here 3rd of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
Towns hold a large share of the water here
47% of rights allow municipal use, against 10% across the state. 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.
Stands out
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 54 counties
28 here 4th of 54 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
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% across the state. 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.
Context
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 6 of 15 counties
34% here 6th of 15 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
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 7 of 60 counties
21% here 7th of 60 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
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 42 counties
4 here 12th of 42 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Stands out
Water here is still being fought over
31 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 1 of 49 counties
31 here 1st of 49 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Worth knowing
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 18 of 60 counties
12.6% here 18th of 60 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
562 reservoirs of record carry no storage decree. Each one is a question somebody has not answered.
CDSS structures 9 of 58 counties
562 here 9th of 58 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Context
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 30 of 52 counties
40% here 30th of 52 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 El Paso County