Van Zandt County, Texas · Canton
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With 10% of homes built before 1960 and about 3 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
April brings the most downpours to Van Zandt County, part of 14.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
10% 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 Van Zandt County, 6.23 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 Van Zandt County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
With 130 muggy nights a year, mold in Van Zandt County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 25,903 homes and around 62,649 residents, Van Zandt County is 843 square miles of eastern Texas. Besides Canton, the county seat, the biggest communities are Wills Point, Grand Saline and Van. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1991.
50/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Van Zandt County ranks 121 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Van Zandt County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
For frozen pipes, Van Zandt County is a typical Texas county, which is still plenty. From 2015–2024 it averaged 3 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 27 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 94th of 232 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 8 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -2°F on February 16, 2021.
Most freezing nights fall from midwinter, 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 22 and the last spring freeze around Feb 23.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. About 14.5 days a year bring an inch or more (38th of 232), most often in April, out of 48.6 inches of total precipitation. On October 24, 2015, 6.23 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 9.78 inches (through October 25, 2015).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 25 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
35% of homes in Van Zandt County predate 1980, below the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 171st of Texas's 232 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 35% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
29% 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.
Here 20% 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 130 nights a year in Van Zandt County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (115th of 232 counties). May is the wettest month. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Van Zandt County homes break down as 10% utility gas, 76% electric, 10% propane and 3% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Van Zandt County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Rains gets more pipe-freeze nights than Van Zandt. Smith County has the oldest housing nearby, with 42% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Van Zandt | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 10% | 20% | 191 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 35% | 46% | 171 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 35% | 26% | 56 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 20% | 13% | 48 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 17% | 161 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 6.5% | 46 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 3/yr | 94 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 7.8/yr | 38 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 25/yr | 27/yr | 123 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 130/yr | 129/yr | 115 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 Van Zandt County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in April, May 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