Bartholomew County, Indiana · Columbus
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With 24% of homes built before 1960 and about 26 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
July brings the most downpours to Bartholomew County, part of 10 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
24% 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.
Bartholomew County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.22 inches, and about 80 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
9% of occupied homes in Bartholomew County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Indiana county median of 17%.
With 45 muggy nights a year, mold in Bartholomew County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 35,668 homes and around 83,536 residents, Bartholomew County is 407 square miles of eastern Indiana. Besides Columbus, the county seat, the biggest communities are Hope, Taylorsville and Mineral Springs. Half the homes here were built before 1979, half after.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Bartholomew County ranks 77 of 92 Indiana counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Bartholomew County ranks highest compared with other Indiana counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Indiana, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 26 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 96 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 71st of 92 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 14 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -9°F on February 21, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs November to March, 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 Oct 30 and end around Apr 17.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Indiana. About 10 days a year bring an inch or more (25th of 92), most often in July, out of 47.9 inches of total precipitation. On September 9, 2018, 3.22 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.74 inches, ending September 10, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 80 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
Indiana's 92 counties range widely in housing age; Bartholomew ranks 58th, with 52% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 24% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
About 23% 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.
Renters occupy 31% 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 45 nights a year in Bartholomew County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (27th of 92 counties). July 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 expectMain heating fuel in Bartholomew County's occupied homes: 51% utility gas, 39% electric, 8% propane and 2% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Bartholomew County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Brown, Decatur, Johnson and Shelby get more pipe-freeze nights than Bartholomew. Shelby County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Bartholomew | Indiana median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 35% | 76 of 92 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 52% | 58% | 58 of 92 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 18% | 16 of 92 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.7% | 6.4% | 58 of 92 |
| Vacant homes | 6.5% | 9.2% | 72 of 92 |
| Wood or propane heat | 9% | 17% | 70 of 92 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 26/yr | 33/yr | 71 of 92 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 10/yr | 7.8/yr | 25 of 92 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 80/yr | 84/yr | 67 of 92 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 45/yr | 38/yr | 27 of 92 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Indiana county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Bartholomew County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in February, March and July.
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