Virginia / New Kent County
Score 47 · elevated · #7 of 95 in VA
Crawl space moisture in New Kent County, VA
63% of New Kent 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 — 90% of acres — it averages 2.1 ft below grade.
- 1Water table 2.1 ft
- 2Wet soils 20%
- 3Moisture score 47
- 4EPA radon zone 3
Reading the New Kent County soil survey
The score of 47 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 37.3 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 61.7, a shallow water table 61, and flooding 14.4; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is D (46% of acres): very slow infiltration, high runoff (clays, high water table).
At 2.1 ft the seasonal water table is usually below a crawl-space floor, but the 90% 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.
New Kent County against the rest of Virginia
New Kent County ranks 7 of 95 Virginia counties, 35 points above the state median of 12. That puts it in the wettest quarter of the state. Statewide, 11% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 20%, half again the state figure or more. After moderately well drained, the next most common class is well drained at 25%.
Flooding. 11.5% of acres with a flooding class are rated frequent; 0.6% 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 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 New Kent County by score
Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area VA127; drainage covers 95% of 141,380 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.