In Kiowa County, much of the water under the land comes from High Plains aquifers

Out on the Eastern Plains, you cannot see the water that matters most. Much of Kiowa County sits over the High Plains aquifer system, including the well-known Ogallala, and depending on where a property sits, a well here may draw from the Ogallala, from shallow alluvial aquifers along the creeks, or from other layers. For many farms, homes, and towns in the county, that groundwater is the water supply.

Two things are easy to get wrong. First, a well is not unlimited water. In Colorado, a well needs a permit from the state Division of Water Resources, and that permit can set what the water may be used for and how much may be pumped. A household-use well and an irrigation well are not the same thing. Second, the aquifer is a shared resource. In parts of the region, water levels have been dropping where pumping outpaces what nature puts back, so how much water a property can really count on is a fair question to ask.

Why a buyer or landowner should care: “the property has a well” tells you less than the permit does. The permit, the use limits, and the depth and condition of the well are what actually describe the water.

For any well in Kiowa County, the Colorado Division of Water Resources is where to look up its permit and conditions.