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How deep are water wells in Big Spring, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Big Spring, Texas vary a lot in depth: the middle half are 80 to 210 feet deep (median 110 ft, 125 wells drilled in the last 10 years), so look at the wells closest to the tract. No single layer dominates: 41% draw from the Ogallala Aquifer, 33% end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum, and 26% from the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB). Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $5,500 to $13,000.

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 pointHoward County
What is under Big Spring, TexasUnderground column at the center of Big Spring: median well 110 ft, middle half 80 to 210 ft, water at 60 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Ogallala: 0 to 151 ftOgallalaDockum: 151 to 809 ftDockumcontinues to 809 ft0100200300ftGround level · 2,538 ft above sea levelMedian well: 110 ftWater standing in the well from 60 ftWater level60 ftMedian well110 ftMiddle half80–210 ft

Under Big Spring, Howard County

Layers at the center of Big Spring 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 125 real wells.

Home wells in and around Big Spring

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 Spring and about 2 miles around it

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
80 to 210 feet
Median depth
110 feet
Deepest 10% are past
256 feet
Water level (median)
60 feet
79 wells
Yield (median)
10 gpm
70 wells, gallons per minute
Wells used
125
In the last 10 years
Inside the city limits
22
the rest within 2 miles
All years on file
290
median 104 ft, since 2001
Confidence
Standard (30 or more wells)

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 60 feet below the surface (79 wells).

What is under Big Spring, TexasUnderground column at the center of Big Spring: median well 110 ft, middle half 80 to 210 ft, water at 60 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Ogallala: 0 to 151 ftOgallalaDockum: 151 to 809 ftDockumcontinues to 809 ft0100200300ftGround level · 2,538 ft above sea levelMedian well: 110 ftWater standing in the well from 60 ftWater level60 ftMedian well110 ftMiddle half80–210 ft
Layers at the center of Big Spring 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 125 real wells.

Which formation do wells in Big Spring draw from?

No single layer dominates: 41% draw from the Ogallala Aquifer, 33% end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum, and 26% from the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB). Read that as the base of the Ogallala or the top of the Dockum, not a certainty: where our method names the Dockum, the state's own record agrees only about 33% of the time (61% for wells with a screened interval), and most of the others are recorded as Ogallala wells.

The bottom of the hole tells a different story: 63% end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum, although only 33% take their water from there. Many drillers go past the producing layer to leave a reserve.

Layer (state's model)ShareWellsTypical depth (ft)
Ogallala41%5180–102
Dockumat or just below the base of the Ogallala33%4180–120
Edwards-Trinity (Plateau)26%33232–260

For 90% of these wells the report says where the water enters (the screen or the open hole), and we use the middle of that interval.

The layers under the center of Big Spring

From the state's model, at 2,538 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)
Ogallalasand, gravel, silt and caliche0151151
Dockumred mudstone, sandstone and conglomerate151809658

Depth over time

Home well depth in and around Big Spring has not changed meaningfully in 20 years: the median was 110 feet in 2003 to 2007 and 110 feet in 2021 to 2025 (a difference under 10% or within the margin of error).

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–200512018
2006–201010053
2011–20158886
2016–202012060
2021–202511067
2026under 10 wells6

What a well costs in Big Spring

At the median depth for Big Spring (110 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $5,500 to $13,000: $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 (80 to 210 feet) the range runs from $4,500 to $19,000. 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.

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 Spring, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Big Spring, Texas vary a lot in depth: the middle half are 80 to 210 feet deep (median 110 ft, 125 wells drilled in the last 10 years), so look at the wells closest to the tract. One in ten goes past 256 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 Spring draw from?

No single layer dominates: 41% draw from the Ogallala Aquifer, 33% end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum, and 26% from the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB). Read that as the base of the Ogallala or the top of the Dockum, not a certainty: where our method names the Dockum, the state's own record agrees only about 33% of the time (61% for wells with a screened interval), and most of the others are recorded as Ogallala wells. 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 Spring?

At the median depth (110 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $5,500 to $13,000, 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 Spring?

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 60 feet below the surface (79 wells). The level moves with drought and from one well to the next.

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

Big Spring is inside the Permian Basin 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.

For 90% 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/places/big-spring-tx. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources