Blount County, Tennessee · Maryville
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With 18% of homes built before 1960 and about 7 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
February brings the most downpours to Blount County, part of 11.9 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
18% 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.
Blount County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.58 inches, and about 60 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
6% of occupied homes in Blount County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Tennessee county median of 7.8%.
About 67 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
About 139,333 people live in Blount County, 559 square miles in eastern Tennessee, in roughly 61,850 homes. The county seat is Maryville, and Alcoa, Eagleton Village and Louisville round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1990.
30/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Blount County ranks 87 of 95 Tennessee counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Blount County ranks highest compared with other Tennessee counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Tennessee, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 64 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 7 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 95 Tennessee counties that's 87th.
On February 20, 2015 the low fell to about 2°F, and in the stretch ending February 2015 the county went 5 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December to February. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 7 and end around Apr 1.
Blount gets fewer downpours than most Tennessee counties, but they still fill basements. About 11.9 days a year bring an inch or more (77th of 95), most often in February, out of 58.2 inches of total precipitation. On February 6, 2020, 3.58 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.1 inches, ending February 7, 2020, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 60 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
Tennessee's 95 counties range widely in housing age; Blount ranks 65th, with 38% of its homes built before 1980.
33% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Tennessee. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
About 30% 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.
Here 10% 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.
Beyond water
About 67 nights a year in Blount County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (59th of 95 counties). February 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Blount County it's 24% utility gas, 69% electric, 5% propane and 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 Blount County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Knox, Monroe and Sevier get more pipe-freeze nights than Blount. Knox County has the oldest housing nearby, with 43% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Blount | Tennessee median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 18% | 16% | 40 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 38% | 41% | 65 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 33% | 27% | 23 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 10% | 16% | 70 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 10% | 12% | 59 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 5.8% | 7.8% | 62 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 7/yr | 11/yr | 87 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 14/yr | 77 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 60/yr | 60/yr | 48 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 67/yr | 74/yr | 59 of 95 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Tennessee county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Blount County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in January, February 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