Oklahoma / McCurtain County

Score 26 · moderate · #25 of 77 in OK

Crawl space moisture in McCurtain County, OK

McCurtain County scores moderate: no single wet-soil signal dominates its mapped acres. Where a seasonal water table is reported — 59% of acres — it averages 2.3 ft below grade.

Size venting or encapsulation

1234
  1. 1Water table 2.3 ft
  2. 2Wet soils 16%
  3. 3Moisture score 26
  4. 4EPA radon zone 3
Somewhat excessively3%Well68%Moderately well13%Somewhat poorly9%Poorly7%
Share of mapped soil acres in McCurtain County, OK by NRCS drainage class (dominant condition), bars to scale; wetter classes highlighted. Covers 97% of mapped acres.
Dominant drainage
Well drained
68% of acres
Group D soils
27%
slow infiltration
Flood-prone acres
17%
any flooding frequency
Ponding
0%
acres where water ponds

Reading the McCurtain County soil survey

The score of 26 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 17.6 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 34.2, a shallow water table 37.8, and flooding 13.3; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is B (38% of acres): moderate infiltration.

4%A38%B30%C22%D2%B/D4%C/D
Hydrologic soil groups in McCurtain County by share of acres, columns to scale. Group D and dual groups (x/D) shed water slowly and hold it near the surface.

At 2.3 ft the seasonal water table is usually below a crawl-space floor, but the 59% 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.

McCurtain County against the rest of Oklahoma

McCurtain County ranks 25 of 77 Oklahoma counties, 9 points above the state median of 17. That places it in the middle range, nationally and for the state. Statewide, 11% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 16%. After well drained, the next most common class is moderately well drained at 13%.

Flooding. 9.8% of acres with a flooding class are rated frequent; 5.1% of acres with a flooding class are rated occasional; 2.5% of acres with a flooding class are rated rare. That is a large flood-prone share; a crawl space in the floodplain needs flood vents under most local floodplain ordinances, which is a separate rule from R408 and can rule out a fully sealed design.

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 3. The zone is a county-level prediction; EPA says elevated levels occur in every zone and every home should be tested.

Near McCurtain County by score

All 77 Oklahoma counties

Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area OK089; drainage covers 97% of 1,216,429 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.