Ottawa County, KS Shrink-Swell Risk

Ottawa County, KS's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Ottawa County, KS: USDA's soil survey rates 55.3% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (4.92% linear extensibility). Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

What Ottawa County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Ottawa 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 Ottawa County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Ottawa County, KS rating "Moderate", 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.

Ottawa County's rank among Kansas counties

Nationally, Ottawa County, KS is the 306-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Kansas alone it ranks 44 of 105. Ottawa County, KS is 721 square miles with a population of 5,853.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Wayne County, OH and Gallatin County, KY 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 Kansas

Every county in Kansas is on this site, including Leavenworth County, KS and Dickinson County, KS. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.