Drew County, Arkansas · Monticello
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Pipes freeze in Drew County on about 3 nights a year, mostly midwinter. Older homes, 16% of the stock here, are most at risk.
April brings the most downpours to Drew County, part of 18.4 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
16% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
Drew County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 5.38 inches, and about 30 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
13% of occupied homes in Drew County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 122 times a year in Drew County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 8,289 homes and around 17,046 residents, Drew County is 829 square miles of southern Arkansas. Monticello is the county seat; Lacey, Wilmar and Winchester are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1985.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Drew County ranks 33 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Drew County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Arkansas, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 3 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 32 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 68th of 75 counties.
On December 24, 2022 the low fell to about 7°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 7 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs midwinter, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 15 and end around Mar 3.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Arkansas. Of roughly 59.9 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 18.4 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 14th of 75. February, March and April see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 5.38 inches, March 10, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 11.24 inches, ending March 11, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 30 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
Roughly 42% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Drew near the middle of Arkansas's 75 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 16% predate 1960 and 26% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
About 32% 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.
Here 23% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Renters occupy 36% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 122 times a year here, above the Arkansas county median of 105. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Drew County homes break down as 25% utility gas, 61% electric, 11% propane and 2% wood. Propane heat is more common here than in most Arkansas counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Drew County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cleveland, Desha and Lincoln get more pipe-freeze nights than Drew. Desha County has the oldest housing nearby, with 57% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Drew | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 16% | 15% | 32 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 46% | 48 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 23% | 23 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 23% | 15% | 12 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 18% | 56 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 11% | 30 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 6/yr | 68 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 18/yr | 17/yr | 14 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 30/yr | 48/yr | 71 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 122/yr | 105/yr | 6 of 75 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Arkansas county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Drew County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in February, March and April.
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