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Fort Recovery, Ohio
Inside Fort Recovery's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 95% of mapped land, higher than 86% of Ohio cities. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 16%.
That water-table share is close to Mercer County's 95%. FEMA's flood data list 1 flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 45846 overlapping the city. Of its 695 homes, 61% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1959.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Mercer 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 Fort Recovery
Basement waterproofing in Fort Recovery: a shallow water table limits basements on 95% of Fort Recovery's mapped land, more than in 86% of Ohio cities, and the ZIP code overlapping Fort Recovery logged 1 FEMA flood losses since 2016.
About 600 of Fort Recovery's 695 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Fort Recovery city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 15.5% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 95.5% |
| Septic fields very limited | 97.8% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.5% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 1.2% |
| Mapped soil | 806 acres |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 4.5% by land area here, and 1% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 16% of the mapped land.
On 95% of Fort Recovery's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
USDA rates 98% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Mercer County
0% of Mercer 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 Fort Recovery. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45846 | 100% | 1 | $30,000 |
Homes in Fort Recovery
| Housing units | 695 |
| Median year built | 1959 |
| Built before 1980 | 61% |
| Built 2000 or later | 21% |
| Owner-occupied | 88% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $162,500 |
| Single-family detached | 88% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Henry | 8 mi | 25% | over 99% |
| Burkettsville | 8 mi | 47% | over 99% |
| New Weston | 9 mi | 15% | 100% |
| Coldwater | 9 mi | 29% | over 99% |
| Rossburg | 12 mi | 21% | over 99% |
| North Star | 12 mi | 28% | 100% |
| Montezuma | 13 mi | 24% | 92% |
| Union City | 15 mi | 18% | over 99% |
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