Presidio County, Texas · Marfa
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With 34% of homes built before 1960 and about 2 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
June brings the most downpours to Presidio County, part of 0.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
34% 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.
In Presidio County, 1.45 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
11% of occupied homes in Presidio County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
With 91 muggy nights a year, mold in Presidio County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 5,930 people live in Presidio County, 3,855 square miles in western Texas, in roughly 3,273 homes. The county seat is Marfa, and Presidio and Redford round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1982.
39/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Presidio County ranks 199 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Presidio County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
For frozen pipes, Presidio County is a typical Texas county, which is still plenty. It averaged 35 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 2 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 232 Texas counties that's 126th.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 20 and the last spring freeze around Mar 4.
Presidio gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 11.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 0.3 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 232nd of 232. June, August and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 1.45 inches, June 17, 2018. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 2 inches (through August 19, 2022).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 35 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Roughly 47% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Presidio near the middle of Texas's 232 counties.
In Presidio County 34% 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.
About 39% 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 23% 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.
The Census counted 26% of homes as vacant, above the Texas county median of 16.6%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 91 times a year here, below the Texas county median of 129. 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 Presidio County it's 24% utility gas, 64% electric, 8% propane and 3% wood. Wood heat is above the Texas norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Presidio County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Presidio gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Brewster County has the oldest housing nearby, with 51% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Presidio | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 34% | 20% | 38 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 47% | 46% | 108 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 26% | 195 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 23% | 13% | 33 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 26% | 17% | 35 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 11% | 6.5% | 64 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 126 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 0.3/yr | 7.8/yr | 232 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 35/yr | 27/yr | 80 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 91/yr | 129/yr | 197 of 232 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Texas county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Presidio County: freezing from January, heavy rain in June, August 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