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Water wells in the Dockum Group, Hale County, Texas

Home water wells that end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum, in Hale County, Texas are typically 225 to 343 feet deep (median 292 ft, 90 wells drilled in the last 10 years). It accounts for 41% of the 221 county wells the state's model covers; the main layer is the Ogallala Aquifer (50%). They are about as deep as the county's median well (304 ft). Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $10,000 to $24,000.

Be careful with this group: where our method names the Dockum, the state's own record agrees in only 33% of 4,542 wells (61% for the 1,168 with a screened interval on their report); most of the others are recorded as Ogallala wells. The typical well we put here barely passes the base of the Ogallala, so read it as "at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum", not as a confirmed formation.

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 Hale CountyDockum Group across Texas

Which layer Hale County wells draw from

Under Abernathy, Hale County

County home wells covered by the High Plains Aquifer System model (in the last 10 years).

Home wells in Hale 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: Hale County

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
225 to 343 feet
Median depth
292 feet
Deepest 10% are past
371 feet
Wells used
90
In the last 10 years
Share of the county's wells
41%
All years on file
243
median 310 ft, since 2001
Confidence
Standard (30 or more wells)

Which layer Hale County wells draw from

County home wells covered by the High Plains Aquifer System model (in the last 10 years).

What this layer is

The Dockum is red mudstone, sandstone and conglomerate more than 200 million years old (Triassic) that lies under the Ogallala and the Cretaceous rocks; drillers often call it the red beds. Its sandstones, mostly the lower ones (Santa Rosa), give water to some home wells, for example in Randall and Potter counties. Many wells that just reach the top of the Dockum still draw from the base of the Ogallala, and the state's records usually list them as Ogallala wells.

More about the Dockum Group

Depth over time

New home wells in this layer in Hale County are shallower than 20 years ago: the median went from 305 feet (2003 to 2007) to 262 feet (2021 to 2025), 14% less. That usually happens when new homes go up in a different area or drillers switch layers.

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–200530341
2006–201031454
2011–201532256
2016–202032618
2021–202526270
2026under 10 wells4

Places in Hale County with wells in this layer

Common questions

How deep is a well in the Dockum Group in Hale County?

Home water wells that end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum, in Hale County, Texas are typically 225 to 343 feet deep (median 292 ft, 90 wells drilled in the last 10 years).

How many Hale County wells draw from this layer?

It accounts for 41% of the 221 county wells the state's model covers; the main layer is the Ogallala Aquifer (50%). For 98% of these wells the report says where the water enters (the screen or the open hole), and we use the middle of that interval.

What a well costs here

At the median depth for this layer in Hale County (292 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $10,000 to $24,000: $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 (225 to 343 feet) the range runs from $8,000 to $27,000. 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 98% 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 22,814 wells in the Texas part of the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (the Panhandle, the South Plains and the Permian Basin) where the State of Texas recorded the aquifer, the formation our method says the well draws from (as grouped on these pages) is the one the state recorded in about 75% of them; when it names the Dockum (4,542 wells), the state's record agrees only about 33% of the time, and most of the others are recorded as Ogallala wells.

  • The layers come from the Texas Water Development Board's High Plains Aquifer System model, with half mile cells, read here on a grid of about 1.2 by 1.4 miles. It is a regional model, not a survey of any lot.
  • The state's model has half mile cells; we read it on a grid of about 1.2 by 1.4 miles, Texas part only. Layers from version 1.01 (2015); the 2025 extension (1.02) did not change them. It is not a survey of any lot, so we give ranges.
  • Figures go by four groups: Ogallala; Pecos Valley; Edwards-Trinity and Rita Blanca (Cretaceous rock under the Ogallala; the Rita Blanca alone matched the state 19%); Dockum (upper and lower together: the state's codes almost never say which). The Edwards-Trinity group joins three aquifers in different places (High Plains around Lubbock, Plateau around Midland and Odessa, Rita Blanca in Dallam and Hartley): county and place pages name the local one where they can.
  • Dockum: when our method names the Dockum, the state's record agrees only 33% of the time over all years (61% for wells with a screened interval, which is 93% of home wells of the last 10 years); most of the rest are recorded as Ogallala wells. The median well we put in the Dockum ends about 18 ft under the base of the Ogallala as the model draws it. So these pages say "at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum", never a certain formation. The state's own 2025 report on this model says depth alone overstates the upper Dockum.
  • "Near or below the base" means the well ends near or below the base of the Dockum, or of the Ogallala where there is no Dockum (Permian red beds; Gray, Carson, Donley, Moore and north Potter counties). Half of these wells end within about 51 ft of the base, and the state usually records them as Ogallala or Dockum wells. That is not an error: the model simply ends there.
  • For old wells without a screened interval (bottom of the hole) the method is only a little better than always saying Ogallala (65% against 58%); with an interval it is 89% against 80%. Figures over all years carry that weakness; last 10 years figures rest almost entirely on intervals.
  • 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/hale-county/dockum. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources