Your water system in Las Animas County isn't acting right — here's who to call
Water Works Plus serves rural properties throughout Las Animas County, from the Purgatoire canyon country near Trinidad up through the Apishapa breaks and east across the plains. We work from the well to the building — pumps, tanks, lines, cisterns, filtration, septic, and excavation. We don't drill wells, which means we have no financial reason to tell you that you need one.
- National Ground Water Association
- Colorado Water Well Contractors Association
- Bonded & insured
- Free estimates and project quotes
What you're probably seeing
Water trouble in Las Animas County tends to show up the same few ways
This county runs from high mesa country at seven thousand feet down to shortgrass plains below five thousand. The geology, the altitude swings, and decades-old infrastructure all shape what goes wrong first.
What we do here
Services we provide across Las Animas County
Every job listed below runs well to building envelope — the supply side of your system. For anything inside the house, we'll tell you who to call.
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Well pump service and repair
Submersible and jet pumps, from pulling the pump to replacing motor and impeller components. We carry common sizes on the truck for the well diameters most common in Las Animas County. See individual town pages for notes on local well depths.
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Pressure tanks
Recharging, repair, or full replacement of the pressure tank and its associated controls. A tank recharge is the cheapest fix on most low-pressure calls — we check it first every time.
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Water lines and service lines
Buried line repair and replacement from the wellhead to where the pipe enters the building. The clay-rich soils in the lower county and the rocky ground in the canyon country each require different approach — we've worked both.
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Cisterns and water delivery
For properties without a reliable well or on very low-yield sources, a storage cistern paired with scheduled water delivery is often the practical answer. We install and service cistern systems and coordinate delivery logistics.
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Water filtration
Whole-system filtration sized to what your test actually shows — iron filters, softeners, sediment, carbon, and UV systems. We don't recommend treatment until we know what's in the water.
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Septic systems
Installation and repair of septic systems on rural parcels throughout the county. Soil conditions vary considerably between the canyon floors, the mesas, and the eastern flats, and the design has to match the site.
We work from the well to the building envelope only — interior plumbing, fixtures, water heaters, drains, and well drilling are outside our scope, and we'll tell you who handles those.
How to think about cost
We work from cheapest fix to most involved — every time
Nobody benefits from replacing a pump when the pressure tank just needs an air charge. Here's the order we follow.
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Pressure tank check and recharge
We check the tank's air precharge before anything else. If it's waterlogged, recharging it restores normal pressure and normal pump cycling. This is the least expensive thing on the list and the first thing we rule in or out.
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Controls and wiring
Pressure switches, capacitors, and control wiring fail more often than pumps do, and they cost a fraction of a pump replacement. A burned contact or a failed capacitor can look exactly like a dead pump from the outside.
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Pressure tank replacement
If the tank shell or bladder has failed beyond recharge, a new tank is still well below a pump pull in cost. We carry tanks sized for the range of system pressures common in this county.
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Pump service or component replacement
When the pump itself is the problem, we pull it and assess whether worn impellers or a failed motor can be rebuilt or whether replacement makes more sense. We're an authorized dealer, so parts carry a five-year equipment warranty.
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Pump replacement
Full pump replacement is the right call when the pump is beyond serviceable life or undersized for the well. We size the replacement to the well's actual yield — not to whatever was there before.
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Line repair or cistern installation
Buried line failures and major excavation work are toward the top of the cost range. On very low-yield wells, a properly sized cistern system is sometimes the more economical long-term answer than chasing a marginal water source.
When you're ready to talk through what's happening with your system, (719) 859-1148 is answered around the clock Monday through Saturday.
- Free estimates — we quote after we diagnose
- One year on labor and materials
- Colorado License #1447
Why the cheap answer is safe to give
We can afford to tell you it is the cheap part
Not because we are nicer than the next outfit. Because of how this business is built — and all three of these are checkable.
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No rig to keep busy
A drilling rig is the most expensive thing a water contractor can own, and it has to stay working to pay for itself. We do not own one. A new well is not on our list of answers, because we could not drill it if we wanted to.
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We are a dealer, not a manufacturer
Authorized dealer — that is where the five-year equipment warranty comes from. We do not build pumps and we do not carry a quota on them. A pump we talk you out of costs us nothing.
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A wrong diagnosis comes back to us
One year on labor and materials means we are the ones who drive back out if the fix does not hold. Guessing expensive is not only dishonest here — it is expensive for us.
None of that is a claim about our character. You do not have to take our word for any of it — the license, the association memberships and the warranty terms are all verifiable, and they are the same on paper as they are on this page.
Questions we get asked
Before you call
We serve the full county — Trinidad, Aguilar, Branson, the canyon communities, and the eastern plains towns — within 75 miles of Weston. If you're unsure whether your property falls in range, call and we'll tell you straight.
Yes. Las Animas County sits in the Arkansas Basin, which has its own administration rules governing well permits and uses. Those rules affect what repairs or modifications trigger a permit. Our page on well rules in the Arkansas Basin covers what applies to private well owners — read it before you commit to any work that changes your system.
We tell you that directly, and we refer you to a licensed driller. We have no rig and no revenue tied to drilling, so we have no reason to push you toward a new well if your existing one can be made to work. That's the whole point of being a repair-only operation.
That depends on what's actually in it, which a water test tells you. Iron and sulfur are common in the coal-measure geology in the western part of the county and they're unpleasant but not always a health risk at low levels. Other contaminants require a different answer. We can point you toward testing and, once you have results, recommend filtration sized to the actual problem.
Several things produce that symptom: a pump losing efficiency, a drop in the well's water level (common in drought years in the Purgatoire and Apishapa drainages), a partially blocked screen, or a pump that was undersized to begin with. We pull the pump and measure — there's no way to know from the surface which one it is.
Yes. For properties on very low-yield sources or without a reliable well, a storage cistern combined with scheduled water delivery is a legitimate long-term setup and sometimes more cost-effective than trying to improve a marginal well. We install cistern systems and can discuss delivery options.
Yes, estimates and project quotes are always free. We look at the system, tell you what we think the problem is and what fixing it involves, and you decide. No commitment required to get that conversation.
One year on labor and materials for every job. Equipment we install as an authorized dealer carries a five-year warranty. Both apply anywhere in our service area, including Las Animas County.
If your situation doesn't fit any of these questions, call (719) 859-1148 — we answer Monday through Saturday, 24 hours. Call (719) 859-1148
Before we come out
A few things that help us move faster when we arrive
You don't need to know the diagnosis — that's our job. But if you can gather a few basics, the visit goes more efficiently.
- Locate your well cap and pressure tank. Knowing where both are before we arrive saves time, especially on larger rural parcels where the well may be a distance from the house.
- Note when the problem started and whether anything changed around that time. A freeze, a power outage, a recent surge, or even unusually dry conditions can all be relevant — anything you noticed in the weeks before the problem showed up is worth mentioning.
- Write down your pressure tank's cut-in and cut-off numbers if you can read them. These are usually printed on the pressure switch label — the small box near the tank. Even a photo of it on your phone helps.
- If you have it, pull your well driller's report. This document shows well depth, casing diameter, and original yield — information that shapes every decision about pump sizing and repairs. It's on file with the Colorado Division of Water Resources if you don't have a copy.
If you can't find any of this, don't worry — we've worked in Las Animas County long enough to know what to look for.
Tell us what the water is doing.
We’ll tell you what it usually turns out to be, what it will take to confirm it, and what it costs — before we touch anything.
Call (719) 859-1148Answering 24 hours a day, Monday through Saturday
- Colorado License #1447 · bonded and insured
- One year on labor and materials, five on equipment
- Free estimates and project quotes — we quote after we diagnose
- NGWA and Colorado Water Well Contractors Association
Or have us call you back
If you are on bad signal or would rather not talk right now.