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Put-in-Bay, Ohio
Inside Put-in-Bay's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 10% of mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 0%.
That water-table share is below Ottawa County's 75%. FEMA's flood data list 2 flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 43456 overlapping the city. Of its 295 homes, 40% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1986.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Ottawa 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 Put-in-Bay
Basement waterproofing in Put-in-Bay: a shallow water table limits basements on 10% of Put-in-Bay's mapped land, and the ZIP code overlapping Put-in-Bay logged 2 FEMA flood losses since 2016.
In Ottawa County, 9% of the 75 flood-loss buildings with a recorded foundation type had basements.
About 200 of Put-in-Bay's 295 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Put-in-Bay city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 10.2% |
| Septic fields very limited | 81.0% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.3% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.0% |
| Mapped soil | 268 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: high water table |
|---|---|---|
| Milton | 39% | n/a |
| Castalia | 34% | n/a |
| Rawson | 8% | n/a |
| Nappanee | 5% | n/a |
| Millsdale | 3% | n/a |
| Genesee | under 1% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
USDA rates 81% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 0% and a shallow water table on 10% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Put-in-Bay; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought in Ottawa County
0% of Ottawa 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 Put-in-Bay. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43456 | 100% | 2 | $54,202 |
Homes in Put-in-Bay
| Housing units | 295 |
| Median year built | 1986 |
| Built before 1980 | 40% |
| Built 2000 or later | 26% |
| Owner-occupied | 67% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $450,000 |
| Single-family detached | 59% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelleys Island | 7 mi | 0% | 40% |
| Marblehead | 10 mi | 1% | 15% |
| Port Clinton | 12 mi | 53% | 62% |
| Bay View | 13 mi | 95% | 98% |
| Sandusky | 15 mi | 33% | 74% |
| Castalia | 17 mi | 0% | 62% |
| Oak Harbor | 19 mi | 51% | 77% |
| Huron | 22 mi | 0% | 82% |
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