Ouachita County, Arkansas · Camden
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Pipes freeze in Ouachita County on about 4 nights a year, mostly December to January. Older homes, 30% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in April. Ouachita County averages 19.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Ouachita County spike on heavy-rain days, about 19.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 48 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
10% of occupied homes in Ouachita County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 111 times a year in Ouachita County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Ouachita County covers 733 square miles of southwest Arkansas, with about 22,085 residents and 11,869 homes. Camden is the county seat; Stephens, East Camden and Bearden are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1974, half after.
71/100 Water Damage Risk Index: High Ouachita County ranks 1 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Ouachita 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 4 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 50 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 53rd of 75 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 4 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about 4°F on February 17, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from December to 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 11 and end around Mar 18.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Arkansas. The county gets about 59.5 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 19.6 days of an inch or more (2nd of 75). Those downpours cluster in March, April and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.72 inches on August 28, 2020. The worst three-day stretch dropped 8.16 inches, ending March 11, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 48 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
62% of homes in Ouachita County predate 1980, above the Arkansas county median of 46%, which ranks 5th of Arkansas's 75 counties.
Before 1960 is when 30% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 28% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
14% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, close to the Arkansas county median of 15%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 27% of homes as vacant, above the Arkansas county median of 18.1%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
About 111 nights a year in Ouachita County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (25th of 75 counties). March is the wettest month. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Ouachita County homes break down as 49% utility gas, 41% electric, 7% propane and 3% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Ouachita County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Clark gets more pipe-freeze nights than Ouachita. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Ouachita | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 30% | 15% | 1 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 62% | 46% | 5 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 23% | 73 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 14% | 15% | 43 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 27% | 18% | 8 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 10% | 11% | 40 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 6/yr | 53 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 20/yr | 17/yr | 2 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 48/yr | 48/yr | 37 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 111/yr | 105/yr | 25 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 Ouachita County: freezing from December to January, heavy rain in March, April 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