A well in the Jeffco mountains is not the same as a city tap

In the eastern part of Jefferson County, water usually comes from a city or district. Drive up into the mountains and foothills and that changes. Many homes there draw from an individual well, and a well is its own subject to understand before you buy.

In Colorado, a new well that pulls groundwater needs a permit from the state Division of Water Resources. The kind of permit you can get, and what it lets you do, depends on where the property sits and how the water will be used. Some permits are limited to indoor household use. Others allow more, like a little outdoor watering or livestock. The permit, not the size of the pump, sets the rules.

For a mountain property, that means a few plain questions matter: Does the existing well have a valid permit? What uses does that permit actually allow? Is there a record of how the well performs over a dry summer? “Has a well” is the start of the conversation, not the end of it.

Before counting on a well, check its permit and conditions with the state Division of Water Resources and the county’s well-water information.