Watonwan County, MN Shrink-Swell Risk

Watonwan County, MN's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Watonwan County, MN: USDA's soil survey rates 53.2% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.04% linear extensibility). Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

What Watonwan County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Watonwan 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 Watonwan County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Watonwan County, MN 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.

Watonwan County's rank among Minnesota counties

Nationally, Watonwan County, MN is the 1,172-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Minnesota alone it ranks 38 of 87. Watonwan County, MN is 435 square miles with a population of 11,204.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Schenectady County, NY and Morgan County, MO 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 Minnesota

Every county in Minnesota is on this site, including Clay County, MN and Polk County, MN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.