What Choctaw County, AL's soil rates for a septic system

Very limited

Soil across 89.6% of Choctaw County, AL rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. That reading means a conventional system is a poor bet here - 89.6% of Choctaw County lands in the strictest "very limited" bucket USDA uses. Choctaw County covers 913.479 square miles and counts 12,052 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Nothing about Choctaw County, AL's SSURGO figure applies to a specific address - it's a county-wide average. A site-specific perc test, usually $750-$1,850, is what a health department will actually require before permitting a lot in Choctaw County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Choctaw 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.

Choctaw County's rank among Alabama counties

Nationally, Choctaw County, AL is the 1,315-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Alabama alone it ranks 15 of 67.

Before you act on this

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