Michigan / Ontonagon County
Score 50 · elevated · #24 of 79 in MI
Crawl space moisture in Ontonagon County, MI
76% of Ontonagon County's soil falls in hydrologic group D or a dual D group: clays and high water tables that shed water slowly. Where a seasonal water table is reported — 84% of acres — it averages 0.7 ft below grade, shallow enough to reach a typical crawl-space footing.
- 1Water table 0.7 ft
- 2Wet soils 34%
- 3Moisture score 50
- 4EPA radon zone 3
Reading the Ontonagon County soil survey
The score of 50 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 40.7 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 60.8, a shallow water table 74.4, and flooding 2; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is C/D (35% of acres): D when undrained, C when drained.
A water table under two feet is the single most important number here. A crawl-space floor is usually 18 to 36 inches below the joists and often below outside grade, so in a wet season groundwater can stand at or above the crawl-space floor across much of Ontonagon County. Venting cannot fix that; it needs drainage — a perimeter drain to daylight or a sump — before any liner goes down.
Ontonagon County against the rest of Michigan
Ontonagon County ranks 24 of 79 Michigan counties, 13 points above the state median of 37. Wetter counties exist in Michigan, but the soil here still sits well above the national middle. Statewide, 45% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 34%, below the state figure — the score here comes from heavy group D soils rather than drainage class alone. After moderately well drained, the next most common class is somewhat poorly drained at 25%.
Flooding. 1.5% of acres with a flooding class are rated frequent; 0.9% of acres with a flooding class are rated occasional. 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. EPA radon zone 3. The zone is a county-level prediction; EPA says elevated levels occur in every zone and every home should be tested.
Near Ontonagon County by score
Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area MI131; drainage covers 98% of 848,723 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.