Chautauqua County, Kansas · Sedan
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With 50% of homes built before 1960 and about 24 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 9.6 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Chautauqua County gets about 9.6 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Chautauqua County, 6.07 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
27% of occupied homes in Chautauqua County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
With 78 muggy nights a year, mold in Chautauqua County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 1,975 homes and around 3,370 residents, Chautauqua County is 639 square miles of southeast Kansas. Sedan is the county seat; Cedar Vale, Peru and Niotaze are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1961, half after.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Chautauqua County ranks 43 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Chautauqua County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Kansas, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 24 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 93 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 97th of 105 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 12 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -15°F on February 17, 2021.
Most freezing nights fall from December to February, 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 Oct 31 and end around Apr 5.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. Of roughly 38.1 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 9.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 20th of 105. May, June and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 6.07 inches, May 21, 2019. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.14 inches, ending May 21, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 83 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Kansas's 105 counties range widely in housing age; Chautauqua ranks 62nd, with 71% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 50% of homes are pre-1960 and 13% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
Here 17% 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.
31% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 78 times a year here, above the Kansas county median of 59. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Chautauqua County it's 53% utility gas, 20% electric, 16% propane and 11% wood. Wood heat is more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Chautauqua County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cowley and Elk get more pipe-freeze nights than Chautauqua. Montgomery County has the oldest housing nearby, with 76% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Chautauqua | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 50% | 48% | 46 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 71% | 74% | 62 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 11% | 38 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 17% | 5.6% | 5 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 31% | 15% | 3 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 27% | 17% | 24 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 24/yr | 39/yr | 97 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.6/yr | 6.8/yr | 20 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 83/yr | 97/yr | 82 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 78/yr | 59/yr | 10 of 105 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Kansas county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Chautauqua County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, June and October.
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