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How deep are water wells in Bishop Hills, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Bishop Hills, Texas are typically 231 to 320 feet deep (median 282 ft, 54 wells drilled in the last 10 years). Most end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum (69%), and 32% end near or below the base of the Dockum, or of the Ogallala where there is no Dockum, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB). Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $9,500 to $23,500.

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 pointPotter County
What is under Bishop Hills, TexasUnderground column at the center of Bishop Hills: median well 282 ft, middle half 231 to 320 ft, water at 170 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Dockum: 0 to 262 ftDockumBelow the base of the model0100200300400500ftGround level · 3,537 ft above sea levelMedian well: 282 ftWater standing in the well from 170 ftWater level170 ftMiddle half231–320 ftMedian well282 ft

Under Bishop Hills, Potter County

Layers at the center of Bishop Hills 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 54 real wells.

Home wells in and around Bishop Hills

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: Bishop Hills and about 2 miles around it

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
231 to 320 feet
Median depth
282 feet
Deepest 10% are past
381 feet
Water level (median)
170 feet
48 wells
Yield (median)
10 gpm
24 wells, gallons per minute
Wells used
54
In the last 10 years
Inside the city limits
28
the rest within 2 miles
All years on file
154
median 250 ft, since 2003
Confidence
Standard (30 or more wells)

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 170 feet below the surface (48 wells).

What is under Bishop Hills, TexasUnderground column at the center of Bishop Hills: median well 282 ft, middle half 231 to 320 ft, water at 170 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Dockum: 0 to 262 ftDockumBelow the base of the model0100200300400500ftGround level · 3,537 ft above sea levelMedian well: 282 ftWater standing in the well from 170 ftWater level170 ftMiddle half231–320 ftMedian well282 ft
Layers at the center of Bishop Hills 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 54 real wells.

Which formation do wells in Bishop Hills draw from?

Most end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum (69%), and 32% end near or below the base of the Dockum, or of the Ogallala where there is no Dockum, 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.

Only 26% bottom out at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum: the rest keep going deeper. 74% of the wells bottom out near or below the base of the Dockum, or of the Ogallala where there is no Dockum in the model, often within tens of feet of it; older Permian red beds lie there, and the state usually records these wells as Ogallala or Dockum wells.

Layer (state's model)ShareWellsTypical depth (ft)
Dockumat or just below the base of the Ogallala69%37270–340
Near or below the base of the Dockumor of the Ogallala32%17220–280

For 100% 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 Bishop Hills

From the state's model, at 3,537 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)
Dockumred mudstone, sandstone and conglomerate0262262

Depth over time

There are not enough wells in both 2003 to 2007 and 2021 to 2025 (at least 30 in each) to say with confidence whether wells in and around Bishop Hills are getting deeper. For reference, the median was 235 feet in 2001 to 2005 (29 wells) and 280 feet in 2021 to 2025 (20 wells).

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–200523529
2006–201022836
2011–201524023
2016–202028037
2021–202528020
2026under 10 wells9

What a well costs in Bishop Hills

At the median depth for Bishop Hills (282 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $9,500 to $23,500: $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 (231 to 320 feet) the range runs from $8,500 to $25,500. 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 Bishop Hills, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Bishop Hills, Texas are typically 231 to 320 feet deep (median 282 ft, 54 wells drilled in the last 10 years). One in ten goes past 381 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 Bishop Hills draw from?

Most end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum (69%), and 32% end near or below the base of the Dockum, or of the Ogallala where there is no Dockum, 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 Bishop Hills?

At the median depth (282 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $9,500 to $23,500, 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 Bishop Hills?

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 170 feet below the surface (48 wells). The level moves with drought and from one well to the next.

Do I need a permit to drill a well in Bishop Hills?

Bishop Hills is inside the Panhandle Groundwater 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 100% 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/bishop-hills-tx. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources