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Water wells in the Southwestern Travis County Groundwater Conservation District

Home water wells inside the Southwestern Travis County Groundwater Conservation District (Travis County, Texas) vary a lot in depth: the middle half are 260 to 666 feet deep (median 410 ft, 572 wells drilled in the last 10 years), so look at the wells closest to the tract. Most draw from the Lower Trinity (76%), and 16% draw from the Middle Trinity, according to the state's Hill Country Trinity model (TWDB). Drillers reported 28 new home wells in 2025, less than half the peak of 140 in 2006. Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $13,000 to $31,000.

Updated every day from Texas Water Development Board driller reports. Last update: November 11, 2026, using the state file of November 10, 2026.

Map of the Southwestern Travis County Groundwater Conservation DistrictDistrict boundary (Travis County) with the places that have the most home wells.Lakeway: 430 ftLakewayBriarcliff: 280 ftBriarcliffLago Vista: 400 ftLago VistaHudson Bend: 470 ftHudson BendWest Lake Hills: 545 ftWest Lake HillsBee Cave: 845 ftBee CaveThe Hills: 790 ftLost Creek: 715 ft5 miles

Under the center of the Southwestern Travis County GCD

District boundary from TWDB's file current as of November 2019. Later changes are not shown.

Home wells in and around the Southwestern Travis County GCD

Each dot is a home well from a state driller report, colored by depth. Tap one for its details and official report. Tap an empty spot to see what is under that point.

See underground

Well depth (ft)

  • <100
  • 100
  • 200
  • 300
  • 400
  • 600
  • 800+

Dark line: the district boundary (TWDB, 2019)

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
260 to 666 feet
Median depth
410 feet
Deepest 10% are past
850 feet
Water level (median)
310 feet
314 wells
Yield (median)
25 gpm
524 wells, gallons per minute
Wells used
572
In the last 10 years
Counties
1
All years on file
1,907
median 390 ft, since 1992
Confidence
Standard (30 or more wells)

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 310 feet below the surface (314 wells), close to the bottom: the typical well holds only about 100 feet of water.

Map of the Southwestern Travis County Groundwater Conservation DistrictDistrict boundary (Travis County) with the places that have the most home wells.Lakeway: 430 ftLakewayBriarcliff: 280 ftBriarcliffLago Vista: 400 ftLago VistaHudson Bend: 470 ftHudson BendWest Lake Hills: 545 ftWest Lake HillsBee Cave: 845 ftBee CaveThe Hills: 790 ftLost Creek: 715 ft5 miles
District boundary from TWDB's file current as of November 2019. Later changes are not shown.

New home wells per year

Drillers reported 28 new home wells in 2025, less than half the peak of 140 in 2006.

Home wells reported per year in the Southwestern Travis County GCDFrom 2002 to 2026. The table below has every year.0501001502002: 762003: 1052004: 10920042005: 1112006: 1402007: 842008: 8620082009: 752010: 612011: 1032012: 6420122013: 842014: 862015: 762016: 7420162017: 752018: 932019: 722020: 7920202021: 482022: 562023: 602024: 3420242025: 282026: 22
Domestic wells with a depth, by the year they were finished. 2026 is still in progress.
Show the data table
YearWells
200276
2003105
2004109
2005111
2006140
200784
200886
200975
201061
2011103
201264
201384
201486
201576
201674
201775
201893
201972
202079
202148
202256
202360
202434
202528
202622

Which formation the wells draw from

Most draw from the Lower Trinity (76%), and 16% draw from the Middle Trinity, according to the state's Hill Country Trinity model (TWDB). Read that as the most likely layer, not a certain one: where our method names the Lower Trinity, the state's own aquifer code agrees in about 53% of wells.

Layer (state's model)ShareWellsTypical depth (ft)
Lower Trinity76%417265–730
Middle Trinity16%86265–590
Near or below the base of the Trinity6%32535–888
Lower TrinityTwin Mountains and Travis Peak1%6226–334
Upper TrinityPaluxy and Glen Rose1%4—
Washita and Fredericksburg<1%1—

For 97% of these wells the report says where the water enters (the screen or the open hole), and we use the middle of that interval.

Places with the most wells in the district

PlaceMedian depth (ft)Middle half (ft)WellsMain layer
Lakeway430350–528248Lower Trinity
Briarcliff280240–385189Lower Trinity
Lago Vista400260–450158Lower Trinity (Twin Mountains and Travis Peak)
Hudson Bend470425–530135Lower Trinity (Twin Mountains and Travis Peak)
West Lake Hills545375–68994Lower Trinity
Bee Cave845660–89279Lower Trinity
The Hills790582–87579Lower Trinity
Lost Creek715602–82542Lower Trinity
Barton Creek818746–88834Lower Trinity

Counties

Depth over time

Home well depth in the district has not changed meaningfully in 20 years: the median was 375 feet in 2003 to 2007 and 432 feet in 2021 to 2025 (a difference under 10% or within the margin of error).

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–2005360404
2006–2010380446
2011–2015400413
2016–2020390393
2021–2025432226
202651922

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Common questions

How deep are wells in the Southwestern Travis County GCD?

Home water wells inside the Southwestern Travis County Groundwater Conservation District (Travis County, Texas) vary a lot in depth: the middle half are 260 to 666 feet deep (median 410 ft, 572 wells drilled in the last 10 years), so look at the wells closest to the tract.

Which formation do wells in the district draw from?

Most draw from the Lower Trinity (76%), and 16% draw from the Middle Trinity, according to the state's Hill Country Trinity model (TWDB). Read that as the most likely layer, not a certain one: where our method names the Lower Trinity, the state's own aquifer code agrees in about 53% of wells.

What does a groundwater conservation district do?

In Texas, districts are the local authority over groundwater: they can require registration or permits for new wells, set spacing from other wells and property lines, and limit pumping. Each district writes its own rules, so ask the Southwestern Travis County Groundwater Conservation District before drilling inside it.

What a well costs here

At the median depth for the district (410 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $13,000 to $31,000: $25 to $60 per foot for drilling, casing and seal, plus $2,500 to $6,500 for the pump, pressure tank, controls and hookup at the well. Across the whole middle half of depths (260 to 666 feet) the range runs from $9,000 to $46,500. This is TerraFunded's estimate from published Texas prices, not a quote, and it leaves out trenching and the line to the house. Get prices from at least two licensed drillers.

How these numbers are made

We count new and replacement domestic (home) wells whose coordinates fall inside the district boundary. We use the last 10 years when there are at least 30 wells; otherwise all since 2001. The median is the middle well and the middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile.

To tell which layer a well draws from, we take the ground elevation at its location, subtract the depth of the interval where water enters (or the bottom of the hole when the report does not give one) and see which layer of the state's model that point falls in.

For 97% of these wells the report says where the water enters (the screen or the open hole), and we use the middle of that interval.

How well it works: In 2,665 wells in the Texas Hill Country where the State of Texas recorded the aquifer, our estimate of the formation the well draws from names the same layer of the state's model in about 76% of them, and that layer or the one next to it in at least 98%.

  • The layers come from the Texas Water Development Board's Hill Country Trinity model, with 1 mile cells. It is a regional model, not a survey of any lot: between one model point and the next, the real depth of each layer can differ.
  • "Near or below the base of the Trinity" means the well reaches the bottom of the model or passes it, often by tens of feet. Older rock that the model does not include may lie there.
  • We never use the model's water levels. The water level on this page is the one each driller measured when the well was finished.

These are depths of real wells drilled nearby, not a promise about any property. Groundwater can change over short distances and with drought. A licensed water well driller can tell you what to expect on a specific tract.

Read the full methodology · Download the data (CSV, CC BY 4.0)

How to cite

TerraFunded (2026). Texas Well Atlas: Underground. From Texas Water Development Board driller reports and groundwater availability models (data as of November 10, 2026). https://terrafunded.com/wells/districts/southwestern-travis-county-groundwater-conservation-district. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources