What Madison County, AL's soil rates for a septic system

Very limited

Soil across 60.7% of Madison County, AL rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. Practically, that rules out a simple gravity system for most of the county - 60.7% of it sits in USDA's most-constrained bucket. Madison County covers 801.619 square miles and counts 423,355 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Nothing about Madison County, AL'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 Madison County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Madison 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Madison County, AL is the 2,715-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Alabama alone it ranks 54 of 67.

Related guides

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