Val Verde County, Texas · Del Rio
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With 14% 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.
September brings the most downpours to Val Verde County, part of 3.2 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Val Verde County gets about 3.2 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Val Verde County, 3.1 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
2% of occupied homes in Val Verde County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 143 times a year in Val Verde County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 47,741 people live in Val Verde County, 3,145 square miles in central Texas, in roughly 18,711 homes. Besides Del Rio, the county seat, the biggest communities are Val Verde Park, Cienegas Terrace and Laughlin AFB. Half the homes here were built before 1983, half after.
34/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Val Verde County ranks 218 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Val Verde County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Val Verde 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 22 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 126th of 232 counties.
On February 19, 2021 the low fell to about 9°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 3 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 22 nights a year at or below 32°F, and that's exactly why they do damage: pipes in attics, exterior walls and slab-edge plumbing are rarely insulated. The coldest night in the record was about 9°F on February 19, 2021.
Val Verde gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 17.5 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 3.2 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 200th of 232. May, September and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.1 inches, October 9, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.03 inches, ending June 5, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 21 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
Texas's 232 counties range widely in housing age; Val Verde ranks 118th, with 46% of its homes built before 1980.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 14% predate 1960 and 24% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 31% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 8% 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
About 143 nights a year in Val Verde County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (76th of 232 counties). September is the wettest month. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Val Verde County homes break down as 18% utility gas, 79% electric, 2% 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 Val Verde County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Crockett and Sutton get more pipe-freeze nights than Val Verde. Sutton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 57% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Val Verde | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 14% | 20% | 161 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 46% | 46% | 118 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 26% | 136 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.5% | 13% | 183 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 10% | 17% | 189 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 2.2% | 6.5% | 202 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 126 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.2/yr | 7.8/yr | 200 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 21/yr | 27/yr | 142 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 143/yr | 129/yr | 76 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 Val Verde County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in May, September 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