Broadwater County, MT Shrink-Swell Risk

Broadwater County, MT's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Broadwater County, MT: USDA's soil survey rates 89.2% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.94% linear extensibility). Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

What Broadwater County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Broadwater County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A site-specific soil report, usually $1,000-$5,000, is what an engineer would actually pull before designing a foundation on a lot in Broadwater County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Broadwater County, MT rating "Low", a geotechnical report is still worthwhile before a build, just less urgent than in a high-risk county. A geotechnical report runs $1,000-$5,000, typically around $2,700. Foundation repair, if a specific lot turns out to differ from the county average, runs $5,000-$15,000.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Broadwater County, MT is the 2,043-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Montana alone it ranks 46 of 54. Broadwater County, MT is 1,192 square miles with a population of 8,302.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Lincoln County, TN and Barnwell County, SC are worth a look for comparison.

How this reading is built, and its real limits · Moisture management: the cheap fix that works on any soil

More of Montana

Every county in Montana is on this site, including Lincoln County, MT and Fergus County, MT. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.