Colorado ยท counties
Water in Kit Carson County
What the state and federal record says about water across Kit Carson County. Each figure names the agency it came from.
Can I drill a well here?
Mostly yes, as a small-capacity well under the Ground Water Commission
-
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.
- Designated basins here: Northern High Plains.
- Groundwater management districts here can set tighter limits than the statute: Arikaree, Plains.
What has actually been permitted in Kit Carson County
- 213household well permits issued since 2015
- 0of them for use inside the house only
- 213for full household use
- 240feet, the typical depth
- 20gallons a minute, the typical yield
CDSS well permits Decided by: The Ground Water Commission, through DWR, at permit application.
- 16 Live water rights across 2,219 square miles
- 4,218 Wells drilled across 2,219 square miles
- 0 ac Irrigated ground across 2,219 square miles
- 223 ft Well depth middle value across 1,594 of 2,219 square miles
Point at any square mile to read what is on it. Hover the maps below to compare them.
Kit Carson 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
2,219 surveyed sections, drawn 2 by 2 miles 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.
The water table here sits far below the surface
The median static water level is 161 feet down, against 48 ft in the median county. That is pumping cost every day the well runs.
CDSS well permits 2 of 64 counties
161 ft here 2nd of 64 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
100% of well permits are inside NORTHERN HIGH PLAINS, where new permits are restricted or unavailable. Before anything else about water here, find out whether you can get one.
CDSS well permits 3 of 18 counties
100% here 3rd of 18 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
92% of sections carry soil the USDA classes as 'prime farmland if irrigated', against 48% in the median county. 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 4 of 56 counties
92% here 4th of 56 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Every town here drinks the same water a well would draw
All 6 of this county's community water systems run on groundwater rather than surface water. A municipal supply is the best-monitored well in the county, so its record is the closest thing to a free test of the aquifer under this ground.
EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System 1 of 59 counties
100% here 1st of 59 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Wells here get plugged and abandoned more than most
13.5% of well permits end in a plugging, 448 wells in all. A well sealed shut is the clearest verdict a driller ever files.
CDSS well permit action history 17 of 64 counties
13.5% here 17th of 64 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
Water systems here have unresolved health violations
1 of this county's 6 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 29 of 45 counties
1 here 29th of 45 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
A lot of this county is wet ground
32% 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 34 of 62 counties
32% here 34th of 62 One bar per Colorado county from lowest to highest. Point at one to name it.
For one parcel in Kit Carson 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.
Check a property in Kit Carson County