Colorado Water and Wells

Read the permit before you count on the water

A Colorado well permit is not a blank check. It may allow water inside one home but not for a lawn, garden, animals, another dwelling, or an outbuilding. The permit file can include the original application, allowed uses, and any construction or pump records DWR has. Read those words before relying on a listing description such as "domestic well."

A common surprise

A listing may say a property has a "domestic well." The permit may say "household use only." Household use only usually means indoor use in one single-family dwelling, with no lawn, garden, livestock, or second home. Some permits described as domestic allow more, but the label in a listing does not settle it. Read the permit and its application.

A permit does not promise a strong well

The permit answers what use is legal. It is not a test of how much water the well can deliver. Ask for the construction and pump records, then have a Colorado-licensed well contractor or pump installer test flow, recovery, and the equipment when water supply matters to the purchase.

Water quality is a separate check

A legal well permit does not tell you whether the water is safe to drink today. A water test does not expand what the permit allows. Private well quality is not regulated like a public water system, so the owner is responsible for testing. Ask what was tested, when and where the sample was taken, whether treatment equipment was running, and whether the lab can test the contaminants that matter for that area. The Colorado private-well drinking water page is a good place to find current testing and health resources.

A shared well needs a working agreement

Find the signed well-sharing agreement before the inspection or title deadline. It should match the permit and say which properties may use the well, who owns the pump and power account, how testing and repairs are paid, what happens during a shortage or outage, and whether the agreement transfers to the next owner.

A ditch on the land is not proof of a water right

Water may cross a parcel even when someone else owns the right and has access rights to maintain the ditch. Look for the deed, stock certificate, water-court decree, agreement, and ditch-company records that show the amount, priority, delivery point, fees, maintenance duties, and transfer terms. If the well relies on an augmentation plan, read that plan too. It may limit pumping or require replacement water.

What to ask before inspection deadlines

• Is the home on municipal water, a domestic tap, a well, a shared well, or hauled water?
• If there is a well, what does the well permit allow?
• What do the construction, pump, and recent yield records show?
• What was tested in the water, when was it tested, and was treatment running?
• If the well is shared, is there a signed agreement that matches the permit?
• Are there ditch shares, irrigation rights, or augmentation obligations?
• Does the water provider charge tap fees or plant investment fees (a one-time charge to connect and buy into the system), or have transfer requirements?
• Can you legally water a lawn, garden, animals, or outbuildings?
• Who will file the DWR owner-name change after closing?

When a well changes hands

Ask the title or closing company how the DWR record will be updated. For a registered well, the closing service should submit the owner-name change. If an existing well was never registered, the buyer generally has 63 days after closing to register it with DWR.

Rain barrels have their own small rule

Under Colorado's general residential rule, a home can use two rain barrels (110 gallons total) to collect rooftop rainwater for outdoor use on the same property without a DWR permit. DWR lists added rainwater options for some properties that have, or could qualify for, a residential well. Check its current guidance before planning anything larger or different.