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Riverlea, Ohio
Inside Riverlea's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 35% of mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 0%.
That water-table share is below Franklin County's 71%. USDA doesn't rate the 28% of mapped land classed as urban land, so these shares are floors. FEMA's flood data list 6 flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 43085 overlapping the city. Of its 218 homes, 88% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1954.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Franklin 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 Riverlea
Basement waterproofing in Riverlea: a shallow water table limits basements on 35% of Riverlea's mapped land, and the ZIP code overlapping Riverlea logged 6 FEMA flood losses since 2016.
In Franklin County, 81% of the 176 flood-loss buildings with a recorded foundation type had basements.
About 200 of Riverlea's 218 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Riverlea city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 35.4% |
| Septic fields very limited | 52.5% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.2% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.0% |
| Urban land, not rated | 27.7% |
| Mapped soil | 96 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: high water table |
|---|---|---|
| Cardington | 23% | 99% |
| Eldean | 10% | 0% |
| Bennington | 8% | 99% |
| Ross | 7% | n/a |
| Pewamo | 5% | 99% |
| Westland | 1% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
On 35% of Riverlea's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
USDA rates 53% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Franklin County
0% of Franklin 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 Riverlea. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43085 | 100% | 6 | $91,488 |
Homes in Riverlea
| Housing units | 218 |
| Median year built | 1954 |
| Built before 1980 | 88% |
| Built 2000 or later | 1% |
| Owner-occupied | 91% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $572,500 |
| Single-family detached | 81% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worthington | 1 mi | under 1% | 49% |
| Upper Arlington | 4 mi | 2% | 47% |
| Minerva Park | 5 mi | 0% | 60% |
| Westerville | 7 mi | 5% | 63% |
| Powell | 7 mi | 12% | 71% |
| Columbus | 7 mi | 8% | 63% |
| Dublin | 7 mi | 26% | 79% |
| Marble Cliff | 7 mi | 0% | 20% |
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