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How deep are water wells in Hartley, Texas?

Only 22 home water wells in and around Hartley, Texas have been reported since 2001, so treat this as a rough guide: the middle half are 560 to 603 feet deep (median 592 ft). Most end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum (64%), and 36% draw from the Ogallala Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB). Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $17,500 to $42,000.

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 pointHartley County
What is under Hartley, TexasUnderground column at the center of Hartley: median well 592 ft, middle half 560 to 603 ft, water at 460 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Ogallala: 0 to 525 ftOgallalaDockum: 525 to 1,098 ftDockumcontinues to 1,098 ft0200400600800ftGround level · 3,918 ft above sea levelMedian well: 592 ftWater standing in the well from 460 ftWater level460 ftMiddle half560–603 ftMedian well592 ft

Under Hartley, Hartley County

Layers at the center of Hartley 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 22 real wells.

Home wells in and around Hartley

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: Hartley and about 2 miles around it

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
560 to 603 feet
Median depth
592 feet
Deepest 10% are past
614 feet
Water level (median)
460 feet
19 wells
Wells used
22
Since 2001
Inside the city limits
2
the rest within 2 miles
All years on file
22
median 592 ft, since 2003
Confidence
Few wells (10 to 29)

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 460 feet below the surface (19 wells), close to the bottom: the typical well holds only about 132 feet of water.

What is under Hartley, TexasUnderground column at the center of Hartley: median well 592 ft, middle half 560 to 603 ft, water at 460 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Ogallala: 0 to 525 ftOgallalaDockum: 525 to 1,098 ftDockumcontinues to 1,098 ft0200400600800ftGround level · 3,918 ft above sea levelMedian well: 592 ftWater standing in the well from 460 ftWater level460 ftMiddle half560–603 ftMedian well592 ft
Layers at the center of Hartley 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 22 real wells.

Which formation do wells in Hartley draw from?

Most end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum (64%), and 36% draw from the Ogallala 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.

Going by the bottom of the hole instead of where the water enters, 100% end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum.

Layer (state's model)ShareWellsTypical depth (ft)
Dockumat or just below the base of the Ogallala64%14591–608
Ogallala36%8535–568

For 68% of these wells the report says where the water enters and we use the middle of that interval; for the rest we use the bottom of the hole, which tends to read one layer too deep.

The layers under the center of Hartley

From the state's model, at 3,918 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 caliche0525525
Dockumred mudstone, sandstone and conglomerate5251,098573

Depth over time

Too few wells per period in and around Hartley to compare depth over time. Since 2003, 22 home wells have been reported, with a median of 592 feet.

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–2005under 10 wells1
2006–2010under 10 wells3
2011–2015under 10 wells2
2016–2020under 10 wells7
2021–2025under 10 wells7
2026under 10 wells2

What a well costs in Hartley

At the median depth for Hartley (592 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $17,500 to $42,000: $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 (560 to 603 feet) the range runs from $16,500 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 Hartley, Texas?

Only 22 home water wells in and around Hartley, Texas have been reported since 2001, so treat this as a rough guide: the middle half are 560 to 603 feet deep (median 592 ft). One in ten goes past 614 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 Hartley draw from?

Most end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum (64%), and 36% draw from the Ogallala 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 Hartley?

At the median depth (592 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $17,500 to $42,000, 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 Hartley?

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 460 feet below the surface (19 wells), close to the bottom: the typical well holds only about 132 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 Hartley?

Hartley is inside the North Plains 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 68% of these wells the report says where the water enters and we use the middle of that interval; for the rest we use the bottom of the hole, which tends to read one layer too deep.

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/hartley-tx. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources