Sumter County, South Carolina · Sumter
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Pipes freeze in Sumter County on about 2 nights a year, mostly January. Older homes, 12% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in August. Sumter County averages 10 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
12% 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.
Sumter County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 6.42 inches, and about 33 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
4% of occupied homes in Sumter County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the South Carolina county median of 5.1%.
With 117 muggy nights a year, mold in Sumter County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Sumter County covers 665 square miles of eastern South Carolina, with about 104,725 residents and 47,582 homes. The county seat is Sumter, and Lakewood, Dalzell and Cherryvale round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1987.
28/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Sumter County ranks 45 of 46 South Carolina counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Sumter County ranks highest compared with other South Carolina counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Sumter County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 2 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 34 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 20th of 46 counties.
Most freezing nights fall from 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 21 and end around Mar 14.
Sumter gets fewer downpours than most South Carolina counties, but they still fill basements. About 10 days a year bring an inch or more (45th of 46), most often in August, out of 49.6 inches of total precipitation. On October 8, 2016, 6.42 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 13.28 inches, ending October 5, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 33 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
36% of homes in Sumter County predate 1980, below the South Carolina county median of 39.8%, which ranks 30th of South Carolina's 46 counties.
The mix runs from 12% built before 1960 to 27% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
37% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 19% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 117 times a year here, close to the South Carolina county median of 113.5. 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 Sumter County it's 9% utility gas, 85% electric, 4% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Sumter County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Kershaw and Lee get more pipe-freeze nights than Sumter. Lee County has the oldest housing nearby, with 45% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Sumter | South Carolina median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 12% | 15% | 36 of 46 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 36% | 40% | 30 of 46 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 25% | 21 of 46 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 22% | 29 of 46 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 16% | 29 of 46 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.3% | 5.1% | 31 of 46 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 2/yr | 20 of 46 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 10/yr | 12/yr | 45 of 46 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 33/yr | 35/yr | 26 of 46 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 117/yr | 114/yr | 16 of 46 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest South Carolina county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Sumter County: freezing from January, heavy rain in August, September 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