Little Rock, counted by the Census
Census QuickFacts gives Little Rock, AR a population estimate of 206,427 on July 1, 2025 (V2025).
QuickFacts also reports the decennial counts: 202,591 people on April 1, 2020, up from 193,524 on April 1, 2010.
What NOAA lists for Little Rock AFB
The NOAA engineering weather station quoted here is Little Rock AFB at Jacksonville, about 17 miles northeast of downtown Little Rock, at an elevation of 312 feet. For Little Rock AFB, about 17 miles northeast of downtown, NOAA gives a 1% summer design temperature of 95°F with a mean coincident wet-bulb temperature of 77°F, and a 99% winter design temperature of 21°F.
The same Little Rock AFB data, from the station about 17 miles northeast of downtown, lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (a 3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 3.8 inches per hour and about 42 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year.
These are the air base station's figures. They were not taken in Little Rock or at your foundation wall.
Keep a moisture diary first
Before a waterproofing salesperson walks down your stairs, give yourself a few weeks of notes. A diary turns a vague complaint ("the basement gets damp") into evidence a contractor has to answer. For each wet episode, write down:
- the date and what the weather had been doing for the previous day or so;
- where the water appeared: a corner, a floor crack, the joint where wall meets slab, under a window, around a pipe, or across a whole wall face;
- what it looked like: beads, a damp sheen, a trickle, a puddle;
- whether a white, powdery deposit has formed on the concrete;
- whether the dehumidifier, washer, water heater or a plumbing line was running or leaking nearby.
A dripping supply line or a slow leak at a water heater can soak a floor and look exactly like groundwater. Rule out the plumbing before paying anyone to cut the slab.
Sweat or seepage?
Water that comes through concrete and water that condenses on it call for very different spending. Condensation forms when moist air touches a surface cooler than the air, and it tends to show as an even film on walls, cold-water pipes and ductwork. Seepage tends to show in one place and to follow rain.
To tell them apart, seal a piece of aluminum foil or plastic sheet against the bare wall with tape on all four edges and leave it for a couple of days. Moisture on the room-facing side came from the air. Moisture trapped behind it came through the wall. If condensation is the answer, the conversation shifts to dehumidification, sealing air leaks at the rim joist and insulating cold pipes, not to drains.
Look at the roof edge and the yard
Water that never reaches the wall never has to be drained away. On a rainy day, take an umbrella around the outside of the house and check:
- gutters overflowing, pulling away from the fascia or dripping at seams;
- downspouts ending right at the foundation instead of discharging well out into the yard;
- soil, mulch or turf that has sunk into a trough along the wall;
- planting beds built up higher than the slab or sill;
- window wells holding leaves or standing water;
- a walk, stoop or driveway that tilts back toward the house.
Rebuilding the slope with compacted soil, extending downspouts and clearing window wells are modest jobs. Ask every waterproofing company whether it walked the outside before writing up interior work, and whether it would try the outside fixes first.
Reading cracks before covering them
Hairline vertical cracks in poured walls are often shrinkage from curing and can usually be sealed with an injected product. Some cracks are telling you about movement instead. Be wary when a crack is wider at one end, steps through block mortar, has one side pushed out past the other, or sits in a wall that leans or bows inward. A structural engineer should look at those before anyone hides them behind a panel or membrane. Mark both ends of each crack in pencil with the date, and revisit them through the seasons.
Interior and exterior systems
When outside work is done and water still gets in, the options to weigh are:
- Interior perimeter drain. A trench cut along the floor edge, perforated pipe in washed stone, and new concrete on top, leading to a sump.
- Sump basin and pump. Ask about the pump's capacity, the check valve, a sealed lid and any battery or water-powered backup.
- Wall drainage membrane. A dimpled sheet that channels water down to the drain rather than trying to stop it at the surface.
- Exterior excavation. Digging to the footing to apply a membrane, drain board and footing drain from outside. It is a large job and sometimes the correct one.
Where the sump water ends up
Ask each company where the discharge line will run, how far from the house it lets out, whether it will drain onto a neighbor's property, and how the outlet is protected from freezing and clogging. Ask whether the city allows the line to tie into a storm drain or sewer.
Permits and paperwork
Ask which city permits the work calls for, who applies for them and whether any fee is in the price. Get proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation in writing, and call your insurer to ask what your homeowner's policy says about basement water before work begins.
When the written proposals arrive
Set them next to each other and compare:
- the water source each company identified, and how it knows;
- outside work recommended before anything inside;
- feet of drain, the basin, pump model and backup;
- the discharge route;
- each crack repair, and any referral to an engineer;
- dehumidification, if condensation is part of the story;
- the warranty's exclusions and whether it passes to a buyer.