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How deep are water wells in Port Arthur, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Port Arthur, Texas vary a lot in depth: the middle half are 135 to 510 feet deep (median 420 ft, 65 wells reported since 2001), so look at the wells closest to the tract. All the wells the model covers are completed in the Chicot Aquifer, according to the state's northern Gulf Coast Aquifer model (TWDB). Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $13,000 to $31,500.

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 pointJefferson County
What is under Port Arthur, TexasUnderground column at the center of Port Arthur: median well 420 ft, middle half 135 to 510 ft, water at 32 ft.No state layer model here yet0200400600800ftGround levelMedian well: 420 ftWater standing in the well from 32 ftWater level32 ftMiddle half135–510 ftMedian well420 ft

Under Port Arthur, Jefferson County

The well and the water are the median of 65 real wells. This atlas does not have a state layer model for this area yet.

Home wells in and around Port Arthur

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: Port Arthur and about 2 miles around it

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
135 to 510 feet
Median depth
420 feet
Deepest 10% are past
576 feet
Water level (median)
32 feet
64 wells
Yield (median)
18 gpm
22 wells, gallons per minute
Wells used
65
Since 2001
Inside the city limits
6
the rest within 2 miles
All years on file
65
median 420 ft, since 2003
Confidence
Standard (30 or more wells)

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 32 feet below the surface (64 wells), well above the bottom: the typical well holds about 388 feet of water.

What is under Port Arthur, TexasUnderground column at the center of Port Arthur: median well 420 ft, middle half 135 to 510 ft, water at 32 ft.No state layer model here yet0200400600800ftGround levelMedian well: 420 ftWater standing in the well from 32 ftWater level32 ftMiddle half135–510 ftMedian well420 ft
The well and the water are the median of 65 real wells. This atlas does not have a state layer model for this area yet.

Which formation do wells in Port Arthur draw from?

All the wells the model covers are completed in the Chicot Aquifer, according to the state's northern Gulf Coast Aquifer model (TWDB).

Layer (state's model)ShareWellsTypical depth (ft)
Chicot100%65135–510

Only 32% 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.

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 Port Arthur are getting deeper. For reference, the median was 490 feet in 2001 to 2005 (18 wells) and 420 feet in 2016 to 2020 (11 wells).

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–200549018
2006–201022218
2011–2015under 10 wells8
2016–202042011
2021–2025under 10 wells8
2026under 10 wells2

What a well costs in Port Arthur

At the median depth for Port Arthur (420 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $13,000 to $31,500: $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 (135 to 510 feet) the range runs from $6,000 to $37,000. 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 Port Arthur, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Port Arthur, Texas vary a lot in depth: the middle half are 135 to 510 feet deep (median 420 ft, 65 wells reported since 2001), so look at the wells closest to the tract. One in ten goes past 576 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 Port Arthur draw from?

All the wells the model covers are completed in the Chicot Aquifer, according to the state's northern Gulf Coast Aquifer 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 Port Arthur?

At the median depth (420 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $13,000 to $31,500, 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 Port Arthur?

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 32 feet below the surface (64 wells), well above the bottom: the typical well holds about 388 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 Port Arthur?

In the state's boundary file (current as of November 2019) no groundwater conservation district covers Port Arthur. 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 32% 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 14,333 wells in the area of the state's northern Gulf Coast Aquifer model (Houston and Southeast Texas) 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 83% of them, and that formation or the one next to it in at least 99%; of the 3,578 of those wells that the state records in the Evangeline, it names the Evangeline for about 51% and the Chicot for most of the rest.

  • The layers come from the Texas Water Development Board's northern Gulf Coast Aquifer model, with cells of about 0.62 mile (1 km). It is a regional model, not a survey of any lot.
  • The state's model has cells of about 3,277 ft (1 km, 0.62 mile); we read it on a grid of about 0.6 by 0.7 miles. It is not a survey of any lot, so we give ranges.
  • Figures go by three groups: Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper and Catahoula with the Burkeville. The state's records cannot tell the Burkeville, the Jasper and the Catahoula apart at a well (alone, the Burkeville matched 33% and the Catahoula 50%), so they are never named one by one as the formation of a well or a place.
  • The line between the Chicot and the Evangeline is drawn differently by different studies. The state's records put about half of their Evangeline wells in what the model draws as the Chicot, mostly deeper wells in Harris, Montgomery, Waller, Liberty and Austin counties. Where both appear, the split is approximate.
  • "Near or below the base" means the well ends near or below the base of the Gulf Coast Aquifer (under the Catahoula: Jackson Group, Yegua and older). It is 1.3% of home wells; half of them end within about 85 ft of the base. That is not an error: the model simply ends there.
  • The model's top layer is a uniform 49 ft slab for the water table zone, not a rock unit; we merge it into the unit beneath. The model also covers Colorado, Lavaca, Fayette, Wharton and Matagorda counties (outside Groundwater Management Area 14), with the same framework. Texas part only.
  • 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/port-arthur-tx. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources