What Lorain County, OH's soil rates for a septic system

Very limited

Soil across 96% of Lorain County, OH rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. This is the reading that pushes a project toward an engineered system rather than a conventional one, and it covers 96% of Lorain County's land. Lorain County covers 490.536 square miles and counts 322,030 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Nothing about Lorain County, OH'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 Lorain County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Lorain 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.

Lorain County's rank among Ohio counties

Nationally, Lorain County, OH is the 522-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Ohio alone it ranks 50 of 87.

Before you act on this

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