Minnesota / Wadena County
Score 43 · elevated · #55 of 87 in MN
Crawl space moisture in Wadena County, MN
50% of Wadena 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 — 69% of acres — it averages 0.6 ft below grade, shallow enough to reach a typical crawl-space footing.
- 1Water table 0.6 ft
- 2Wet soils 42%
- 3Moisture score 43
- 4EPA radon zone 1
Reading the Wadena County soil survey
The score of 43 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 49.8 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 31.2, a shallow water table 62, and flooding 2.3; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is A (38% of acres): high infiltration, low runoff (sands, gravels).
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 Wadena County. Venting cannot fix that; it needs drainage — a perimeter drain to daylight or a sump — before any liner goes down.
Wadena County against the rest of Minnesota
Wadena County ranks 55 of 87 Minnesota counties, 4 points below the state median of 47. Wetter counties exist in Minnesota, but the soil here still sits well above the national middle. Statewide, 55% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 42%, 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 very poorly drained at 25%.
Flooding. 1.7% of acres with a flooding class are rated frequent; 1% 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. Ponding — water standing at the surface with nowhere to go — affects 12.1% of acres.
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. Wadena 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 Wadena County by score
Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area MN159; drainage covers 99% of 347,600 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.