How deep are water wells in Vega, Texas?
Home water wells in and around Vega, Texas are consistently 315 to 328 feet deep (median 324 ft, 35 wells drilled in the last 10 years). All the wells the model covers 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: $10,500 to $26,000.
Updated every day from Texas Water Development Board driller reports. Last update: November 11, 2026, using the state file of November 10, 2026.
Under Vega, Oldham County
Layers at the center of Vega 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 35 real wells.
Digging in…
Home wells in and around Vega
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: Vega and about 2 miles around it
Green: aquifer mapped by the state
Key figures
- Typical depth (middle half)
- 315 to 328 feet
- Median depth
- 324 feet
- Deepest 10% are past
- 333 feet
- Water level (median)
- 220 feet
- 33 wells
- Yield (median)
- 16 gpm
- 12 wells, gallons per minute
- Wells used
- 35
- In the last 10 years
- Inside the city limits
- 2
- the rest within 2 miles
- All years on file
- 51
- median 322 ft, since 2002
- Confidence
- Standard (30 or more wells)
When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 220 feet below the surface (33 wells).
Which formation do wells in Vega draw from?
All the wells the model covers draw from the Ogallala Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB).
Only 60% bottom out inside the Ogallala Aquifer: the rest keep going deeper but take their water from that layer.
| Layer (state's model) | Share | Wells | Typical depth (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ogallala | 100% | 35 | 315–328 |
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 Vega
From the state's model, at 4,050 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ogallalasand, gravel, silt and caliche | 0 | 333 | 333 |
| Dockumred mudstone, sandstone and conglomerate | 333 | 920 | 587 |
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 Vega are getting deeper. For reference, the median was 322 feet in 2016 to 2020 (16 wells) and 325 feet in 2021 to 2025 (18 wells).
| Period | Median depth (ft) | Wells |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–2005 | under 10 wells | 6 |
| 2006–2010 | under 10 wells | 7 |
| 2011–2015 | under 10 wells | 1 |
| 2016–2020 | 322 | 16 |
| 2021–2025 | 325 | 18 |
| 2026 | under 10 wells | 3 |
What a well costs in Vega
At the median depth for Vega (324 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $10,500 to $26,000: $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 (315 to 328 feet) the range runs from $10,500 to $26,000. 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 Oldham County
- City · 35.2453, -102.4292
Nearby places
Median depth of home wells in each place.
- Bushland 305 ft
- Umbarger 240 ft
- Bishop Hills 282 ft
- Hereford 355 ft
- Rockwell Place 305 ft
- Canyon 304 ft
Common questions
How deep do you have to drill a well in Vega, Texas?
Home water wells in and around Vega, Texas are consistently 315 to 328 feet deep (median 324 ft, 35 wells drilled in the last 10 years). One in ten goes past 333 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 Vega draw from?
All the wells the model covers draw from the Ogallala Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System 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 Vega?
At the median depth (324 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $10,500 to $26,000, 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 Vega?
When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 220 feet below the surface (33 wells). The level moves with drought and from one well to the next.
Do I need a permit to drill a well in Vega?
In the state's boundary file (current as of November 2019) no groundwater conservation district covers Vega. 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.
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/vega-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)
- Numerical Model Report for the High Plains Aquifer System Groundwater Availability Model. Deeds, N.E., and Jigmond, M. (INTERA Incorporated), for the Texas Water Development Board; extension through 2020 by Cawthon, T., and Wade, S. (TWDB, 2025), 2015, GAM v1.01 (layers unchanged in the 2025 extension, version 1.02). 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)
