Chatham County, Georgia · Savannah
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With 24% of homes built before 1960 and about 0 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
September brings the most downpours to Chatham County, part of 10.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Chatham County gets about 10.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Chatham County, 10.17 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
1% of occupied homes in Chatham County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 146 times a year in Chatham County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 137,532 homes and around 300,879 residents, Chatham County is 433 square miles of southeast Georgia. Savannah is the county seat; Pooler, Wilmington Island and Port Wentworth are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1986.
48/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Chatham County ranks 90 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Chatham County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Georgia, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 0 nights a year at or below 20°F (117th of 159) and 10 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 10 nights a year at or below 32°F, and that's exactly why they do damage: pipes in attics, exterior walls and slab-edge plumbing are rarely insulated. The coldest night in the record was about 18°F on December 25, 2022.
Chatham gets fewer downpours than most Georgia counties, but they still fill basements. About 10.3 days a year bring an inch or more (143rd of 159), most often in September, out of 49.1 inches of total precipitation. On October 8, 2016, 10.17 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 10.75 inches, ending August 8, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Housing
42% of homes in Chatham County predate 1980, above the Georgia county median of 38.4%, which ranks 56th of Georgia's 159 counties.
Before 1960 is when 24% 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.
24% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Renters occupy 43% 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
About 146 nights a year in Chatham County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (4th of 159 counties). August is the wettest month. 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 Chatham County it's 27% utility gas, 71% electric, 1% propane and under 1% 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 Chatham County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Chatham gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Chatham | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 15% | 19 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 38% | 56 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 34% | 27% | 45 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.5% | 21% | 144 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 14% | 95 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 1.1% | 7.1% | 158 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 0/yr | 2/yr | 117 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 10/yr | 12/yr | 143 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 10/yr | 29/yr | 155 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 146/yr | 112/yr | 4 of 159 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Georgia county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Chatham County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in April, May and September.
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