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Bethesda, Ohio
Inside Bethesda's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 12% of mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 4%.
That water-table share is below Belmont County's 18%. FEMA's flood data list no flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 43719 overlapping the city. Of its 680 homes, 74% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1955.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Belmont County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 1 overlapping ZIP
of homes built before 1980
Basement waterproofing in Bethesda
Basement waterproofing in Bethesda: a shallow water table limits basements on 12% of Bethesda's mapped land.
In Belmont County, 52% of the 27 flood-loss buildings with a recorded foundation type had basements.
About 500 of Bethesda's 680 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Bethesda city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 4.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 11.7% |
| Septic fields very limited | 63.1% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.3% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.6% |
| Mapped soil | 411 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: high water table |
|---|---|---|
| Westmoreland | 55% | 0% |
| Wellston | 16% | under 1% |
| Coshocton | 5% | 98% |
| Berks | 5% | under 1% |
| Lowell | 4% | 4% |
| Westmore | 2% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
USDA rates 63% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 4% and a shallow water table on 12% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Bethesda; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought in Belmont County
0% of Belmont County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. County detail.
Flood losses by ZIP code
FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Bethesda. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43719 | 100% | 0 | $0 |
Homes in Bethesda
| Housing units | 680 |
| Median year built | 1955 |
| Built before 1980 | 74% |
| Built 2000 or later | 5% |
| Owner-occupied | 63% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $109,000 |
| Single-family detached | 68% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont | 2 mi | 3% | 8% |
| Morristown | 3 mi | 28% | 34% |
| Barnesville | 6 mi | 33% | 30% |
| Fairview | 9 mi | 40% | 31% |
| Flushing | 9 mi | 21% | 13% |
| St. Clairsville | 10 mi | 37% | 41% |
| Holloway | 11 mi | 21% | 22% |
| Wilson | 11 mi | 14% | 26% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status