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Putnam, Texas
Inside Putnam's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 80% of mapped land, the 2nd-highest of 4 cities in Callahan County. A shallow water table limits basements on 0%.
That clay share is above Callahan County's 60%. FEMA's flood data list no flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 76469 overlapping the city.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Callahan County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 1 overlapping ZIP
Foundation repair in Putnam
Foundation repair in Putnam: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 80% of Putnam's mapped land, more than in 85% of Texas cities.
| Who designs the repair | The ASCE Texas Section's repair guidelines say a Texas-licensed engineer should evaluate the foundation and design the repair (2022 guidelines) |
| Prices | Cost guide ranges compared |
Soil under Putnam city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 80.1% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 0.0% |
| Septic fields very limited | 83.6% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 6.9% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 52.9% |
| Mapped soil | 655 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Throck | 31% | n/a |
| Owens | 18% | n/a |
| Callahan | 10% | n/a |
| Nukrum | 10% | n/a |
| Leeray | 8% | n/a |
| Speck | 6% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 6.9% by land area here, and 53% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 80% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of Callahan County is in drought on the latest map, and 80% of Putnam's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
USDA rates 84% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Callahan County
100% of Callahan 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 Putnam. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 76469 | 100% | 0 | $0 |
Homes
Putnam 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baird | 12 mi | 59% | 0% |
| Moran | 12 mi | 31% | under 1% |
| Cisco | 12 mi | 31% | 1% |
| Cross Plains | 17 mi | 79% | 5% |
| Clyde | 18 mi | 87% | 2% |
| Eastland | 22 mi | 40% | 7% |
| Carbon | 23 mi | 9% | 45% |
| Rising Star | 23 mi | 28% | 21% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026). Methods · Data status