Colorado private well rules
Colorado's Board of Examiners of Water Well and Ground Heat Exchanger Contractors, in the Division of Water Resources, oversees well construction, well abandonment and pump installation and licenses contractors.
Who licenses well work in Colorado
The Division of Water Resources runs a well inspection program that enforces minimum well construction and pump installation standards.
The Water Well Construction Rules (2 CCR 402-2) set minimum standards for installing and repairing pumps and cisterns, as well as for building and plugging wells.
Each well permit file can include the allowed uses of the well, the permit application, and available well construction and pump installation records.
Sources: Board of Examiners; Well inspection program; Construction rules 2 CCR 402-2; Well permit files
Who may work on a well pump
Permanent pump and cistern installations on a water well must be done by a licensed pump installation contractor or by a private pump installer.
A private pump installer is a well owner, or their direct employee, using the owner's own equipment (not rented, leased or hired) on land the owner owns.
Owners installing or repairing their own pump must first complete the state's private pump installer assessment.
A licensed well driller who does not also hold a pump installation license may not install a pump, except temporary pumps for development and testing.
A pump installation report must be filed every time a pump is installed or its depth setting changes.
Source: Licensed installer or owner
Does the state require well testing?
Anyone with a private well in Colorado can apply to CDPHE's PFAS Testing and Assistance Program for free PFAS testing, and eligible participants can get free filters.
The PFAS program is only for private well users. People on a public water system are not eligible.
CDPHE says the free PFAS testing program is available while supplies last.
Source: Free PFAS testing
Disinfecting a well
After installing a pump or cistern, the installer must disinfect the well before it is put into service.
Colorado rules require enough disinfectant to reach at least 100 milligrams per liter of chlorine.
All wells and cisterns must be disinfected after construction, after cistern installation and after pump installation.
Source: Disinfect after pump work
Plugging an unused well
In Colorado it is ultimately the well owner's responsibility to have an unused well properly plugged, sealed and abandoned.
The pump must be removed from the well before it is plugged.
Owners may plug simpler wells they own, but must first consult a licensed well construction contractor or Board staff.
When a replacement well is permitted and built, the old well must be plugged within 60 days unless the permit says otherwise.
Source: Owner is responsible
Checking a contractor's license
The Board of Examiners keeps a list of currently licensed contractors and updates it every quarter.
Well drillers and pump installers in Colorado must hold a current license.
An unlicensed worker may install pumps only as a direct employee of, or under continuous on site supervision by, a licensed contractor.
Sources: Licensed contractor list; Unlicensed helpers