Wells and Water in the Laramie County Control Area

Why this control area exists, and where it actually sits

The State Engineer designated the Laramie County Control Area (LCCA) on September 2, 1981, covering roughly the eastern two-thirds of the county -- stretching from around Cheyenne east to the Nebraska line, south to the Colorado border, and north to the Platte and Goshen County lines -- in response to declining water levels in the High Plains Aquifer. Groundwater levels in the control area have continued declining since 1981 according to the State Engineer's Office's own monitoring network, which is why the control area's rules have gotten more specific over time rather than less. If you're evaluating a parcel anywhere in the eastern two-thirds of the county, don't assume it falls outside the boundary just because it isn't immediately adjacent to Cheyenne -- confirm the actual boundary against a specific parcel with the State Engineer's Office.

Four sub-areas, not one uniform rule

A 2015 Order of the State Engineer for the LCCA divided the control area into four distinct sub-areas based on local hydrogeology and how developed groundwater use already is there: a "Drawdown Area" and a "Conservation Area" (both facing documented aquifer decline, with well-spacing requirements for new wells), an "Unaffected Area" (where the aquifer has not shown the same decline, and where the Order's well-spacing requirement does not apply), and "Underlying Units" addressing deeper aquifer zones beneath the shallower High Plains system. Which of these four sub-areas a specific parcel falls into is not something you can estimate from a general map of the LCCA boundary -- it changes what a new well application actually has to satisfy, and it should be confirmed directly with the State Engineer's Office rather than assumed from the parcel simply being "inside the control area."

What actually triggers public review -- and what stays simple

Not every well inside the LCCA goes through a heavier process. Wells for domestic use, stock watering, or miscellaneous uses under 25 gallons per minute remain outside the control area's public-review requirement and are exempt from the adjudication step that other uses face -- meaning a straightforward small household or stock well here can still follow something close to the simplified path described on the Wyoming state hub. Everything else is different: any new appropriation that isn't domestic, stock, or small miscellaneous use, and any petition to change an existing groundwater use within the control area, triggers public notice, a public comment period, and a recommendation from the county's elected Laramie County Control Area Advisory Board before the State Engineer acts on it. That review step is a real, multi-party process with a timeline of its own -- not a formality -- so a buyer planning anything beyond a basic domestic or stock well (an irrigation well, a larger commercial or industrial well) should budget real time for it, not assume a permit clears on the same schedule as a small well elsewhere in the state.

On top of that review requirement, the 2015 Order also mandates metering for essentially all irrigation, industrial, and miscellaneous-use wells within the control area's High Plains Aquifer portion, with metered volumes reported to the State Engineer's Office -- small stock and domestic wells are the main exemption from the metering requirement, mirroring their exemption from public review. Irrigation alone accounts for roughly 92 percent of the control area's groundwater withdrawals during the growing season, which is the underlying reason metering and spacing rules exist here at all.

A live push for even tighter rules

The 2015 Order was not the county's last word on the subject. The Laramie County Board of Commissioners has separately asked the State Engineer to consider a moratorium on new high-capacity well permits in the eastern part of the county, with that request tied explicitly to the results of a U.S. Geological Survey groundwater model study of the area. That means the permitting picture for anything beyond a small domestic or stock well here is realistically more likely to tighten than loosen in the near term -- if you're planning a larger well, ask the State Engineer's Office directly whether any moratorium or interim policy is currently in effect before budgeting a project around today's rules.

What to check before you count on a well here

1. Confirm whether the specific parcel falls inside the Laramie County Control Area boundary, and if so, which of the four sub-areas (Drawdown, Conservation, Unaffected, or Underlying Units) applies -- the State Engineer's Office, not the county, holds this information.
2. If your planned use is domestic, stock watering, or a miscellaneous use under 25 gallons per minute, confirm it still qualifies for the simplified, non-public-review path -- and if it doesn't, budget real time for the public notice/comment/Advisory Board process before assuming a fast turnaround.
3. Ask directly whether a moratorium or interim restriction on new high-capacity wells is currently in effect in eastern Laramie County, since the county has actively requested one tied to an ongoing USGS study.
4. If buying land with an existing well inside the control area, confirm whether that well is subject to the metering and reporting requirement, and ask for its recent reported readings rather than assuming compliance.