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How deep are water wells in Big Lake, Texas?

Only 11 home water wells in and around Big Lake, Texas have been reported since 2001, so treat this as a rough guide: the middle half are 590 to 600 feet deep (median 600 ft). All the wells the model covers are completed in the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB). Most of these reports do not say where the water enters, so the formation is a rough guide. Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $17,500 to $42,500.

This page is based on fewer than 30 wells, so it is kept out of search engines until more reports come in. Treat every figure as a rough guide.

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

See the wells and layers at an exact pointReagan County
What is under Big Lake, TexasUnderground column at the center of Big Lake: median well 600 ft, middle half 590 to 600 ft, water at 305 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Edwards-Trinity (Plateau): 0 to 620 ftEdwards-Trinity (Plat…Dockum: 620 to 908 ftDockumcontinues to 908 ft0200400600800ftGround level · 2,687 ft above sea levelMedian well: 600 ftWater standing in the well from 305 ftWater level305 ftMiddle half590–600 ftMedian well600 ft

Under Big Lake, Reagan County

Layers at the center of Big Lake from TWDB's High Plains Aquifer System model (half mile cells, read here on a grid of about 1.2 by 1.4 miles), at true depth scale. The well and the water are the median of 11 real wells.

Home wells in and around Big Lake

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+

Dashed line: Big Lake and about 2 miles around it

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
590 to 600 feet
Median depth
600 feet
Deepest 10% are past
605 feet
Water level (median)
305 feet
10 wells
Wells used
11
Since 2001
Inside the city limits
1
the rest within 2 miles
All years on file
11
median 600 ft, since 2012
Confidence
Few wells (10 to 29)

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 305 feet below the surface (10 wells).

What is under Big Lake, TexasUnderground column at the center of Big Lake: median well 600 ft, middle half 590 to 600 ft, water at 305 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Edwards-Trinity (Plateau): 0 to 620 ftEdwards-Trinity (Plat…Dockum: 620 to 908 ftDockumcontinues to 908 ft0200400600800ftGround level · 2,687 ft above sea levelMedian well: 600 ftWater standing in the well from 305 ftWater level305 ftMiddle half590–600 ftMedian well600 ft
Layers at the center of Big Lake from TWDB's High Plains Aquifer System model (half mile cells, read here on a grid of about 1.2 by 1.4 miles), at true depth scale. The well and the water are the median of 11 real wells.

Which formation do wells in Big Lake draw from?

All the wells the model covers are completed in the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB). Most of these wells have no screened interval on their report, and for those the method is only a little better than always answering the Ogallala (it matches the state's record about 65% of the time, against 58%): read the formation as a rough guide.

Layer (state's model)ShareWellsTypical depth (ft)
Edwards-Trinity (Plateau)100%11590–600

Only 46% of these wells have the water-bearing interval on their report (reports before about 2012 rarely do). For the others we use the bottom of the hole, which tends to read one layer deeper than where the water actually comes from.

The layers under the center of Big Lake

From the state's model, at 2,687 feet above sea level. These are the model's depths at that one point, not those of any particular lot.

Depths in feet below ground.
Layer (state's model)Top (ft)Bottom (ft)Thickness (ft)
Edwards-Trinity (Plateau)sand, sandstone and limestone0620620
Dockumred mudstone, sandstone and conglomerate620908287

Depth over time

Too few wells per period in and around Big Lake to compare depth over time. Since 2012, 11 home wells have been reported, with a median of 600 feet.

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2011–2015under 10 wells6
2016–2020under 10 wells3
2021–2025under 10 wells2

What a well costs in Big Lake

At the median depth for Big Lake (600 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $17,500 to $42,500: $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 (590 to 600 feet) the range runs from $17,500 to $42,500. 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.

Where it sits

Nearby places

Median depth of home wells in each place.

All Texas cities and towns

Common questions

How deep do you have to drill a well in Big Lake, Texas?

Only 11 home water wells in and around Big Lake, Texas have been reported since 2001, so treat this as a rough guide: the middle half are 590 to 600 feet deep (median 600 ft). One in ten goes past 605 feet. The depth a given tract needs depends on where it sits and what layers the driller hits.

What aquifer or formation do wells in Big Lake draw from?

All the wells the model covers are completed in the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB). Most of these wells have no screened interval on their report, and for those the method is only a little better than always answering the Ogallala (it matches the state's record about 65% of the time, against 58%): read the formation as a rough guide. This is an estimate from the state's regional model, not a survey of the lot.

How much does a water well cost in Big Lake?

At the median depth (600 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $17,500 to $42,500, by TerraFunded's estimate from published Texas driller prices. The real price comes from a licensed driller's quote.

How deep is the water in Big Lake?

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 305 feet below the surface (10 wells). The level moves with drought and from one well to the next.

Do I need a permit to drill a well in Big Lake?

Big Lake is inside the Santa Rita Underground Water Conservation District. Groundwater conservation districts in Texas can require registering or permitting a new well, keeping set distances from property lines and other wells, and paying fees. Rules differ from district to district: ask the district before drilling.

How these numbers are made

We count new and replacement domestic (home) wells whose coordinates fall inside the place boundary or within 2 miles of it. 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.

Only 46% of these wells have the water-bearing interval on their report (reports before about 2012 rarely do). For the others we use the bottom of the hole, which tends to read one layer deeper than where the water actually comes from.

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/places/big-lake-tx. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources