Iowa / Boone County
Score 47 · elevated · #43 of 99 in IA
Crawl space moisture in Boone County, IA
57% of Boone County's mapped soil is somewhat poorly to very poorly drained, which means ground that stays wet near the surface for significant periods. Where a seasonal water table is reported — 89% of acres — it averages 2 ft below grade.
- 1Water table 2 ft
- 2Wet soils 57%
- 3Moisture score 47
- 4EPA radon zone 1
Reading the Boone County soil survey
The score of 47 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 53.8 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 36.9, a shallow water table 61.4, and flooding 4.6; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is C/D (46% of acres): D when undrained, C when drained.
At 2 ft the seasonal water table is usually below a crawl-space floor, but the 89% 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.
Boone County against the rest of Iowa
Boone County ranks 43 of 99 Iowa counties, level with the state median of 47. Wetter counties exist in Iowa, but the soil here still sits well above the national middle. Statewide, 44% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 57%. After poorly drained, the next most common class is well drained at 34%.
Flooding. 2.4% of acres with a flooding class are rated frequent; 3.6% of acres with a flooding class are rated occasional; 0% 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 an elevated county the soil supplies more moisture than average, but a vented crawl space can work if the ground is covered: the code lets vent area drop from 1 sq ft per 150 to 1 per 1500 with a Class I vapor retarder on the ground, which is an admission of how much moisture comes from below. Grading, gutters and a ground cover usually decide whether a crawl space here stays dry before any decision about sealing it.
Radon. Boone County is in EPA radon zone 1, the highest predicted potential. A sealed crawl space and a radon system share most of their parts — the liner, the sealed seams, a fan — so if you are encapsulating, test for radon first and design both together. EPA itself says the zone map is not a reason to skip testing in zones 2 and 3.
Near Boone County by score
Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area IA015; drainage covers 99% of 367,200 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.