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Palestine, Ohio
Inside Palestine's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 94% of mapped land, higher than 84% of Ohio cities. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 1%.
That water-table share is close to Darke County's 96%. FEMA's flood data list no flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 45352 overlapping the city.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Darke County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 1 overlapping ZIP
Basement waterproofing in Palestine
Basement waterproofing in Palestine: a shallow water table limits basements on 94% of Palestine's mapped land, more than in 84% of Ohio cities.
Soil under Palestine city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 1.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 94.0% |
| Septic fields very limited | 99.3% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.3% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.3% |
| Mapped soil | 93 acres |
What the numbers mean here
On 94% of Palestine's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
USDA rates 99% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Darke County
0% of Darke 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 Palestine. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45352 | 100% | 0 | $0 |
Homes
Palestine has fewer than 100 housing units in the ACS 2020-2024 estimates, too few for reliable shares.
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hollansburg | 4 mi | 15% | 100% |
| Wayne Lakes | 5 mi | under 1% | 14% |
| New Madison | 6 mi | 3% | 61% |
| Greenville | 8 mi | 9% | 92% |
| Castine | 10 mi | 20% | over 99% |
| Union City | 10 mi | 18% | over 99% |
| Eldorado | 11 mi | 20% | 99% |
| Arcanum | 11 mi | 34% | 100% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026). Methods · Data status