Chautauqua County, New York · Mayville
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With 59% of homes built before 1960 and about 49 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 4.9 times a year here, most often in July. 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 4.9 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Chautauqua County, 2.05 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
13% of occupied homes in Chautauqua County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the New York county median of 19%.
With 13 muggy nights a year, mold in Chautauqua County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 66,476 homes and around 125,544 residents, Chautauqua County is 1,060 square miles of western New York. Mayville is the county seat; Jamestown, Dunkirk and Fredonia are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1953.
55/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Chautauqua County ranks 19 of 57 New York counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Chautauqua County ranks highest compared with other New York counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Chautauqua County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 49 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 131 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 38th of 57 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 22 days below freezing (ending March 2015), and the low bottomed out near -20°F on February 17, 2015.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, 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 24 and end around May 6.
Rainfall is about average for New York. Of roughly 45.5 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 4.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 36th of 57. June, July and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.05 inches, November 12, 2022. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.16 inches, ending September 28, 2022, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 90 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
New York's 57 counties range widely in housing age; Chautauqua ranks 5th, with 77% of its homes built before 1980.
In Chautauqua County 59% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
20% 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 13 times a year here, close to the New York county median of 12. 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 67% utility gas, 16% electric, 10% propane and 4% 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 Chautauqua County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cattaraugus gets more pipe-freeze nights than Chautauqua. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Chautauqua | New York median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 59% | 45% | 3 of 57 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 77% | 67% | 5 of 57 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 8.6% | 13% | 50 of 57 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.4% | 7.6% | 35 of 57 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 14% | 19 of 57 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 19% | 40 of 57 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 49/yr | 55/yr | 38 of 57 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.9/yr | 6/yr | 36 of 57 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 90/yr | 101/yr | 42 of 57 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 13/yr | 12/yr | 27 of 57 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest New York 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 November to March, heavy rain in June, July 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