Athens County, OH's soil, for a septic absorption field

Very limited

In Athens County, OH, 96.6% of the surveyed land carries a "Very limited" rating for a standard septic drain field. Practically, that rules out a simple gravity system for most of the county - 96.6% of it sits in USDA's most-constrained bucket. Athens County, OH is 503.643 square miles with a population of 63,218.

What Athens County's reading doesn't cover

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Athens County, OH - never a reading for one specific parcel. A local percolation test, typically $750-$1,850 (around $1,300 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Athens County will actually do.

What a system would cost here

With 96.6% of Athens County rating "Very limited", a standard gravity system is not a safe assumption here. The engineered-system range, $10,000-$40,000 (mound or aerobic treatment), is the more realistic number to plan around, against $3,000-$8,000 for a conventional system on the rare lot that passes.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Athens County, OH is the 431-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Ohio alone it ranks 44 of 87.

Before you act on this

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