Elmore County, Alabama · Wetumpka
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Millbrook, Wetumpka and Holtville. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
Elmore County averages 2 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 8% of its homes predate 1960.
January brings the most downpours to Elmore County, part of 15.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Elmore County gets about 15.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Elmore County, 4.89 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
9% of occupied homes in Elmore County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Alabama county median of 9.9%.
About 119 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
Elmore County covers 619 square miles of eastern Alabama, with about 89,526 residents and 37,323 homes. Wetumpka is the county seat; Millbrook, Holtville and Tallassee are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1995.
38/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Elmore County ranks 53 of 67 Alabama counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Elmore County ranks highest compared with other Alabama counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Elmore County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 33 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 2 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 67 Alabama counties that's 37th.
Most freezing nights fall from January, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 17 and end around Mar 7.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Alabama. Of roughly 58.8 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 15.7 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 22nd of 67. January, February and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.89 inches, April 20, 2020. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.46 inches, ending December 25, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 33 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Alabama's 67 counties range widely in housing age; Elmore ranks 62nd, with 29% of its homes built before 1980.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 41% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
About 29% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 15% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 119 times a year here, close to the Alabama county median of 112. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Elmore County it's 17% utility gas, 73% electric, 9% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Elmore County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Chilton, Coosa and Tallapoosa get more pipe-freeze nights than Elmore. Macon County has the oldest housing nearby, with 52% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Elmore | Alabama median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 8.3% | 16% | 62 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 29% | 44% | 62 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 41% | 23% | 6 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 15% | 22% | 47 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 16% | 56 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 9.4% | 9.9% | 36 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 37 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 15/yr | 22 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 33/yr | 38/yr | 41 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 119/yr | 112/yr | 27 of 67 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Alabama county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Elmore County: freezing from January, heavy rain in January, February and December.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024); weather from NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages (EpiNOAA), 2015–2024, averaged across the county; county boundaries from Census TIGER. Reviewed 2026-10-21. Methodology