What Franklin County, AR's soil rates for a septic system

Very limited

Soil across 83.9% of Franklin County, AR rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. Practically, that rules out a simple gravity system for most of the county - 83.9% of it sits in USDA's most-constrained bucket. Franklin County covers 608.967 square miles and counts 17,586 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Franklin County, AR - 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 Franklin County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Franklin 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 Franklin County, AR compares

Nationally, Franklin County, AR is the 1,792-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Arkansas alone it ranks 65 of 75.

Before you act on this

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