Grand Forks County, ND's soil, for a septic absorption field

Very limited

In Grand Forks County, ND, 84.9% of the surveyed land carries a "Very limited" rating for a standard septic drain field. That reading means a conventional system is a poor bet here - 84.9% of Grand Forks County lands in the strictest "very limited" bucket USDA uses. Grand Forks County, ND is 1,436.216 square miles with a population of 73,771.

What Grand Forks County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Grand Forks County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide rating. A local percolation test, typically $750-$1,850 (around $1,300 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Grand Forks County will actually do.

What a system would cost here

With 84.9% of Grand Forks County rating "Very limited", a standard gravity system is not a safe assumption here. 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 Grand Forks County, ND compares

Nationally, Grand Forks County, ND is the 1,698-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within North Dakota alone it ranks 10 of 53.

Before you act on this

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