Archuleta County, CO: the USDA septic-suitability picture

Very limited

Archuleta County, CO: USDA's soil survey calls 92% of the county "Very limited" for a septic leach field. Practically, that rules out a simple gravity system for most of the county - 92% of it sits in USDA's most-constrained bucket. For scale: 1,350.089 square miles and 14,112 people call Archuleta County home.

Before you rely on this for one lot

USDA's survey covers the whole of Archuleta County, CO at once, not any single address. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific perc test, running about $750-$1,850 (typically near $1,300).

Budgeting for a system in Archuleta County, CO

Archuleta County's soil reading pushes the likely outcome toward an engineered system rather than a conventional one. Conventional systems run $3,000-$8,000 where they pass; where they don't, engineered alternatives (mound or aerobic treatment, whichever the health department requires) run $10,000-$40,000 - budget toward the higher figure until a perc test says otherwise.

Archuleta County's rank among Colorado counties

Among the 3,058 rated counties on this site, Archuleta County, CO ranks 1,047 most-constrained nationally, and 9 of 63 within Colorado.

Further reading

How this rating is built, and its real limits · Conventional vs. engineered septic systems