Skip to content
ENES
Marketplace

How deep are water wells in De Kalb, Texas?

Only 19 home water wells in and around De Kalb, Texas have been reported since 2001, so treat this as a rough guide: the middle half are 204 to 282 feet deep (median 250 ft). All the wells the model covers are completed in younger formations above the Woodbine, according to the state's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (TWDB). Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $9,000 to $21,500.

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 pointBowie County
What is under De Kalb, TexasUnderground column at the center of De Kalb: median well 250 ft, middle half 204 to 282 ft, water at 42 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Above the Woodbine: 0 to 2,115 ftAbove the Woodbinecontinues to 5,083 ft0100200300400ftGround level · 393 ft above sea levelMedian well: 250 ftWater standing in the well from 42 ftWater level42 ftMiddle half204–282 ftMedian well250 ft

Under De Kalb, Bowie County

Layers at the center of De Kalb from TWDB's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (quarter mile cells, summarized here to about 1.3 miles), at true depth scale. The well and the water are the median of 19 real wells.

Home wells in and around De Kalb

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: De Kalb and about 2 miles around it

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
204 to 282 feet
Median depth
250 feet
Deepest 10% are past
309 feet
Water level (median)
42 feet
18 wells
Yield (median)
13 gpm
17 wells, gallons per minute
Wells used
19
Since 2001
Inside the city limits
2
the rest within 2 miles
All years on file
19
median 250 ft, since 2002
Confidence
Few wells (10 to 29)

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 42 feet below the surface (18 wells), well above the bottom: the typical well holds about 208 feet of water.

What is under De Kalb, TexasUnderground column at the center of De Kalb: median well 250 ft, middle half 204 to 282 ft, water at 42 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Above the Woodbine: 0 to 2,115 ftAbove the Woodbinecontinues to 5,083 ft0100200300400ftGround level · 393 ft above sea levelMedian well: 250 ftWater standing in the well from 42 ftWater level42 ftMiddle half204–282 ftMedian well250 ft
Layers at the center of De Kalb from TWDB's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (quarter mile cells, summarized here to about 1.3 miles), at true depth scale. The well and the water are the median of 19 real wells.

Which formation do wells in De Kalb draw from?

All the wells the model covers are completed in younger formations above the Woodbine, according to the state's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (TWDB).

Layer (state's model)ShareWellsTypical depth (ft)
Above the Woodbine100%19204–282

Only 58% 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 De Kalb

From the state's model, at 393 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)
Above the Woodbineshale, chalk and marl02,1152,115
Woodbinesandstone with shale2,1152,264148
Washita and Fredericksburglimestone, marl and clay2,2642,772508
Upper Trinitysandstone, limestone and marl2,7724,0961,324
Lower Trinitysandstone with shale and limestone4,0965,083987

Depth over time

Too few wells per period in and around De Kalb to compare depth over time. Since 2002, 19 home wells have been reported, with a median of 250 feet.

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–2005under 10 wells3
2006–2010under 10 wells4
2011–2015under 10 wells2
2016–2020under 10 wells7
2021–2025under 10 wells3

What a well costs in De Kalb

At the median depth for De Kalb (250 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $9,000 to $21,500: $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 (204 to 282 feet) the range runs from $7,500 to $23,500. 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 De Kalb, Texas?

Only 19 home water wells in and around De Kalb, Texas have been reported since 2001, so treat this as a rough guide: the middle half are 204 to 282 feet deep (median 250 ft). One in ten goes past 309 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 De Kalb draw from?

All the wells the model covers are completed in younger formations above the Woodbine, according to the state's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (TWDB). This is an estimate from the state's regional model, not a survey of the lot.

How much does a water well cost in De Kalb?

At the median depth (250 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $9,000 to $21,500, 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 De Kalb?

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 42 feet below the surface (18 wells), well above the bottom: the typical well holds about 208 feet of water. The level moves with drought and from one well to the next.

Do I need a permit to drill a well in De Kalb?

In the state's boundary file (current as of November 2019) no groundwater conservation district covers De Kalb. Districts created or enlarged since then are missing from that file, so confirm with the county or TWDB before drilling. Anywhere in Texas the well must be drilled by a licensed driller, who files the report with the state.

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 58% 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 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/places/de-kalb-tx. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources