In Phillips County, wells sit in a designated groundwater basin

On the Eastern Plains, there is very little surface water, so the water under your feet matters. In Phillips County, that groundwater is managed in a special way.

Colorado has set aside several “designated groundwater basins” in the dry eastern part of the state, and Phillips County sits in the Northern High Plains basin. Inside these basins, wells are not handled under the same priority system that governs rivers and ditches elsewhere in Colorado. Instead, a state body called the Colorado Ground Water Commission, along with a local ground water management district, oversees how wells are permitted and how much water they can pull.

Why this matters for a buyer: a well in a designated basin can come with conditions on what it may be used for and how much it can produce. A big irrigation well that waters crops is a different thing from a small household well, and neither one means the water is unlimited. The aquifer here is drawn down over time, and the rules are built around that reality.

If a Phillips County property has a well, or you hope to drill one, confirm its permit and basin status with the Colorado Division of Water Resources before you count on the water.