Septic soil in Dawson County, TX, by the numbers

Somewhat limited

84.4% of Dawson County, TX's surveyed soil comes back "Somewhat limited" in USDA's own SSURGO data, the county's dominant condition for a septic absorption field. 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. Dawson County covers 900.309 square miles and counts 11,758 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Dawson County, TX - never a reading for one specific parcel. A site-specific perc test, usually $750-$1,850, is what a health department will actually require before permitting a lot in Dawson County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Dawson 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.

Dawson County's rank among Texas counties

Nationally, Dawson County, TX is the 3,052-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Texas alone it ranks 250 of 253.

Related guides

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