How deep are water wells in Lake Dallas, Texas?
Home water wells in and around Lake Dallas, Texas vary a lot in depth: the middle half are 192 to 839 feet deep (median 240 ft, 54 wells reported since 2001), so look at the wells closest to the tract. No single layer dominates: 54% are completed in the Woodbine Aquifer, 28% in the upper Trinity (Paluxy and Glen Rose) and 17% end at or just below the base of the Woodbine (Washita and Fredericksburg groups), according to the state's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (TWDB). Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $8,500 to $21,000.
Updated every day from Texas Water Development Board driller reports. Last update: November 11, 2026, using the state file of November 10, 2026.
Under Lake Dallas, Denton County
Layers at the center of Lake Dallas 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 54 real wells.
Digging in…
Home wells in and around Lake Dallas
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.
Well depth (ft)
- <100
- 100
- 200
- 300
- 400
- 600
- 800+
Dashed line: Lake Dallas and about 2 miles around it
Green: aquifer mapped by the state
Key figures
- Typical depth (middle half)
- 192 to 839 feet
- Median depth
- 240 feet
- Deepest 10% are past
- 921 feet
- Water level (median)
- 90 feet
- 38 wells
- Yield (median)
- 17.5 gpm
- 52 wells, gallons per minute
- Wells used
- 54
- Since 2001
- Inside the city limits
- 2
- the rest within 2 miles
- All years on file
- 54
- median 240 ft, since 2001
- Confidence
- Standard (30 or more wells)
When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 90 feet below the surface (38 wells), well above the bottom: the typical well holds about 150 feet of water.
Which formation do wells in Lake Dallas draw from?
No single layer dominates: 54% are completed in the Woodbine Aquifer, 28% in the upper Trinity (Paluxy and Glen Rose) and 17% end at or just below the base of the Woodbine (Washita and Fredericksburg groups), according to the state's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (TWDB).
| Layer (state's model) | Share | Wells | Typical depth (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbine | 54% | 29 | 170–240 |
| Upper TrinityPaluxy and Glen Rose | 28% | 15 | 852–935 |
| At or just below the base of the WoodbineWashita and Fredericksburg | 17% | 9 | 180–300 |
| Lower TrinityTwin Mountains and Travis Peak | 2% | 1 | — |
Only 41% 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 Lake Dallas
From the state's model, at 557 feet above sea level. These are the model's depths at that one point, not those of any particular lot.
| Layer (state's model) | Top (ft) | Bottom (ft) | Thickness (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbinesandstone with shale | 0 | 228 | 228 |
| Washita and Fredericksburglimestone, marl and clay | 228 | 741 | 513 |
| Upper Trinitysandstone, limestone and marl | 741 | 1,320 | 580 |
| Lower Trinitysandstone with shale and limestone | 1,320 | 1,738 | 417 |
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 Lake Dallas are getting deeper. For reference, the median was 250 feet in 2006 to 2010 (12 wells) and 800 feet in 2016 to 2020 (15 wells).
| Period | Median depth (ft) | Wells |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–2005 | under 10 wells | 5 |
| 2006–2010 | 250 | 12 |
| 2011–2015 | 220 | 15 |
| 2016–2020 | 800 | 15 |
| 2021–2025 | under 10 wells | 7 |
What a well costs in Lake Dallas
At the median depth for Lake Dallas (240 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $8,500 to $21,000: $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 (192 to 839 feet) the range runs from $7,500 to $57,000. 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
- Wells in Denton County
- North Texas Groundwater Conservation District (groundwater district)
- City · 33.1279, -97.0234
Nearby places
Median depth of home wells in each place.
- Hickory Creek 280 ft
- Shady Shores 240 ft
- Corinth 738 ft
- Lakewood Village 260 ft
- Highland Village 220 ft
- Oak Point 260 ft
Common questions
How deep do you have to drill a well in Lake Dallas, Texas?
Home water wells in and around Lake Dallas, Texas vary a lot in depth: the middle half are 192 to 839 feet deep (median 240 ft, 54 wells reported since 2001), so look at the wells closest to the tract. One in ten goes past 921 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 Lake Dallas draw from?
No single layer dominates: 54% are completed in the Woodbine Aquifer, 28% in the upper Trinity (Paluxy and Glen Rose) and 17% end at or just below the base of the Woodbine (Washita and Fredericksburg groups), 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 Lake Dallas?
At the median depth (240 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $8,500 to $21,000, 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 Lake Dallas?
When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 90 feet below the surface (38 wells), well above the bottom: the typical well holds about 150 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 Lake Dallas?
Lake Dallas is inside the North Texas 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.
Only 41% 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/lake-dallas-tx. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.
Sources
- Submitted Driller's Reports database, Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) (file of November 10, 2026)
- Hydrogeology and Documentation of the Northern Trinity and Woodbine Aquifer System Groundwater Availability Model (NTGAM). Ellis, J., Prieto-Estrada, A., Osborne, A., Deeds, N., White, J., and Keester, M. (INTERA Incorporated), for the North Texas Groundwater Conservation District and Groundwater Management Area 8, 2025, GAM v3.01. TWDB groundwater availability model.
- Texas place boundaries, U.S. Census Bureau (2023 cartographic boundary file)
- Ground elevation: Terrain Tiles (Mapzen), Registry of Open Data on AWS
- TWDB well report viewer (each well's official report)