Colorado / Saguache County
Score 25 · moderate · #4 of 45 in CO
Crawl space moisture in Saguache County, CO
Saguache County scores moderate: no single wet-soil signal dominates its mapped acres. Where a seasonal water table is reported — 36% of acres — it averages 3 ft below grade.
- 1Water table 3 ft
- 2Wet soils 21%
- 3Moisture score 25
- 4EPA radon zone 2
Reading the Saguache County soil survey
The score of 25 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 22 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 44, a shallow water table 19.8, and flooding 7; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is D (32% of acres): very slow infiltration, high runoff (clays, high water table).
At 3 ft the seasonal water table is usually below a crawl-space floor, but the 36% of acres that report one are by definition the wettest parts of the county; on those lots, a wet spring can bring water close to the footings.
Saguache County against the rest of Colorado
Saguache County ranks 4 of 45 Colorado counties, 15 points above the state median of 10. That puts it in the wettest quarter of the state. Statewide, 3% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 21%, half again the state figure or more. After well drained, the next most common class is poorly drained at 14%.
Flooding. 5.1% of acres with a flooding class are rated frequent; 0.9% of acres with a flooding class are rated occasional; 6.8% of acres with a flooding class are rated rare. Flood-prone soils are a minority here, concentrated along streams; the score mostly reflects what happens between floods.
What it means for a crawl space here
In a moderate county the soil record is mixed rather than uniformly wet, so conditions vary from lot to lot. Where the lot drains, the model-code default — a vented crawl space with 1 sq ft of net vent per 150 sq ft of floor, or 1 per 1500 with a Class I vapor retarder on the ground — is a reasonable starting point; where the sections above point to a shallow water table or flood-prone soil on your lot, plan as for an elevated county. Either way, check the site first: grading that falls away from the foundation, gutters and downspouts that discharge well clear of it, and a ground cover over bare earth. A wet crawl space in a moderate county points to one of those first.
Radon. EPA radon zone 2. The zone is a county-level prediction; EPA says elevated levels occur in every zone and every home should be tested.
Near Saguache County by score
Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area CO633; drainage covers 96% of 858,300 mapped acres); EPA Map of Radon Zones, county table (June 2024 JSON); IRC R408.3 Unvented crawl space, as adopted in S.C. Code Regs. 8-1221 (LII). Checked 2026-10-23.