Septic soil in Knox County, ME, by the numbers

Very limited

In Knox County, ME, 73.7% 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 - 73.7% of Knox County lands in the strictest "very limited" bucket USDA uses. Knox County covers 364.902 square miles and counts 40,981 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Two lots a mile apart in Knox County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide rating. A site-specific perc test, usually $750-$1,850, is what a health department will actually require before permitting a lot in Knox County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Knox 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.

Knox County's rank among Maine counties

Nationally, Knox County, ME is the 2,338-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Maine alone it ranks 15 of 16.

Related guides

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