Skip to content
ENES
Marketplace

Water wells in younger formations above the Woodbine, Ellis County, Texas

Home water wells completed in younger formations above the Woodbine in Ellis County, Texas are typically 56 to 85 feet deep (median 80 ft, 38 wells drilled in the last 10 years). It accounts for 24% of the 157 county wells the state's model covers; the main layer is the Woodbine Aquifer (62%). They run about 340 feet shallower than the county's median well (420 ft). Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $4,500 to $11,500.

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

All wells in Ellis CountyAbove the Woodbine across Texas

Which layer Ellis County wells draw from

Under Ennis, Ellis County

County home wells covered by the Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (in the last 10 years).

Home wells in Ellis County

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: Ellis County

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
56 to 85 feet
Median depth
80 feet
Deepest 10% are past
142 feet
Water level (median)
23 feet
33 wells
Yield (median)
10.5 gpm
30 wells, gallons per minute
Wells used
38
In the last 10 years
Share of the county's wells
24%
All years on file
49
median 72 ft, since 2004
Confidence
Standard (30 or more wells)

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 23 feet below the surface (33 wells), well above the bottom: the typical well holds about 57 feet of water.

Which layer Ellis County wells draw from

County home wells covered by the Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (in the last 10 years).

What this layer is

The state's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model treats everything above the Woodbine as a single layer: the Eagle Ford, Austin, Taylor and Navarro groups (mostly shale, chalk and marl) plus younger sands and river deposits where they exist. It is a catch-all, not one rock. In counties east and south of the Trinity outcrop, a home well in this layer is usually drawing from a younger local sand that this model does not separate.

More about younger formations above the Woodbine

Depth over time

Too few wells per period in this layer in Ellis County to compare depth over time. Since 2004, 49 home wells have been reported, with a median of 72 feet.

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–2005under 10 wells1
2006–2010under 10 wells7
2011–2015under 10 wells3
2016–2020under 10 wells6
2021–20258029
2026under 10 wells3

Places in Ellis County with wells in this layer

Common questions

How deep is a well in younger formations above the Woodbine in Ellis County?

Home water wells completed in younger formations above the Woodbine in Ellis County, Texas are typically 56 to 85 feet deep (median 80 ft, 38 wells drilled in the last 10 years).

How many Ellis County wells draw from this layer?

It accounts for 24% of the 157 county wells the state's model covers; the main layer is the Woodbine Aquifer (62%). For 79% of these wells the report says where the water enters and we use the middle of that interval; for the rest we use the bottom of the hole, which tends to read one layer too deep.

How deep does the water stand?

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 23 feet below the surface (33 wells), well above the bottom: the typical well holds about 57 feet of water.

What a well costs here

At the median depth for this layer in Ellis County (80 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $4,500 to $11,500: $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 (56 to 85 feet) the range runs from $4,000 to $11,500. 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 with a valid depth on their report. 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 79% of these wells the report says where the water enters and we use the middle of that interval; for the rest we use the bottom of the hole, which tends to read one layer too deep.

How well it works: In 7,977 wells in the area of the state's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (North and Central Texas) 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 74% of them, and that layer or the one next to it in at least 95%; among the 3,130 of those wells that the state places in a Trinity layer (Paluxy to Hosston) it is about 56%.

  • The layers come from the Texas Water Development Board's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model, with quarter mile cells, summarized here to about 1.3 miles. 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.
  • In this model every layer is at least 30 feet thick, even where the real rock is thinner or missing. Thin layers and the edges of the model are approximate.
  • Inside the Trinity this atlas does not name single model layers: it groups the Paluxy and Glen Rose (upper Trinity) and groups the Hensell, Pearsall and Hosston (lower Trinity, Twin Mountains and Travis Peak), because the check against the state's codes shows the method cannot separate them reliably.
  • "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/ellis-county/younger-formations. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources