Septic soil in Bradley County, AR, by the numbers

Very limited

Soil across 94.9% of Bradley County, AR rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. A standard gravity system routinely fails on ground like this; the same share of the county falls in USDA's worst absorption-field bucket outright. Bradley County covers 649.167 square miles and counts 9,935 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Two lots a mile apart in Bradley County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide rating. A site-specific perc test, usually $750-$1,850, is what a health department will actually require before permitting a lot in Bradley County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Bradley County's rating, plan for the engineered-system range rather than the conventional one. 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.

How Bradley County, AR compares

Nationally, Bradley County, AR is the 682-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Arkansas alone it ranks 16 of 75.

Before you act on this

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