Septic soil in Cochran County, TX, by the numbers

Somewhat limited

Soil across 81.6% of Cochran County, TX rates "Somewhat limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. That's a middle reading: not the outright failure "very limited" soil produces, but not a clean pass either. Design changes often bridge the gap. Cochran County covers 775.082 square miles and counts 2,583 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Nothing about Cochran County, TX'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 Cochran County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Cochran 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 Cochran County, TX compares

Nationally, Cochran County, TX is the 3,048-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Texas alone it ranks 248 of 253.

Before you act on this

How this rating is built, and its real limits · How a percolation test actually works