Ground conditions shift quickly around Anderson. A few miles can separate some of the wettest till in central Indiana from well-drained outwash. Each town page below leads with that town’s own soil, housing and rainfall data, and with the practical advice that follows from it.
| Town | What stands out |
|---|---|
| Anderson | Wet till across much of the city, post-war block basements, combined sewers and the White River |
| Lapel | The wettest ground in our sample: 98% of sampled land has an estimated water table within about a foot |
| Fortville | Every sampled point poorly drained; nearly half Brookston depression soil; newer homes (Hancock County) |
| Elwood | The oldest housing (median 1950) on very wet ground |
| Pendleton | Newer homes (median 1990) on wet till |
| Ingalls | The newest homes (median 2000); first-generation pumps reaching end of life |
| Edgewood | A post-war suburb: 94% of homes built before 1980 |
| Alexandria | Mixed: wet till and well-drained outwash side by side |
| Chesterfield | Mostly well-drained outwash; start the fix outside |
| Middletown | The best-drained ground in the sample, with older homes (Henry County) |
Also in our data, without their own pages: Frankton and Summitville sit on very wet till much like Lapel’s, and Daleville’s sampled land is largely mapped as “urban land” complexes, where the soil survey is least precise. Their numbers are in the comparison table on the data and methods page.
Soil figures throughout are USDA soil-survey estimates for mapped areas, not measurements at any lot.
Town pages
PendletonNewer homes on some of the area's wettest till.ElwoodThe oldest housing in the area on very wet till.AlexandriaMixed ground: wet till and better-drained outwash side by side.LapelThe wettest ground in the area: water from below is the rule.Fortville100% poorly drained till and Brookston depressions under newer homes.IngallsThe newest houses in the area, still on wet till.ChesterfieldMostly well-drained outwash: start the fix outside.MiddletownThe best-drained ground in the area, with older houses.EdgewoodA post-war suburb where the water table rises every spring.