Bowman County, ND's soil, for a septic absorption field

Very limited

Soil across 73.4% of Bowman County, ND rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. Practically, that rules out a simple gravity system for most of the county - 73.4% of it sits in USDA's most-constrained bucket. Bowman County, ND is 1,161.809 square miles with a population of 2,886.

What Bowman County's reading doesn't cover

Bowman County's rating is an average across the whole county, not a promise about any one lot inside it. A local percolation test, typically $750-$1,850 (around $1,300 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Bowman County will actually do.

What a system would cost here

With 73.4% of Bowman 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.

Bowman County's rank among North Dakota counties

Nationally, Bowman County, ND is the 2,356-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within North Dakota alone it ranks 27 of 53.

Before you act on this

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