Monongalia County, WV's soil, for a septic absorption field

Very limited

93.2% of Monongalia County, WV's surveyed soil comes back "Very limited" in USDA's own SSURGO data, the county's dominant condition for a septic absorption field. Expect the ground itself to work against a plain gravity system; USDA's strictest bucket alone covers 93.2% of the county. Monongalia County, WV is 360.094 square miles with a population of 108,697.

What Monongalia County's reading doesn't cover

Nothing about Monongalia County, WV's SSURGO figure applies to a specific address - it's a county-wide average. A local percolation test, typically $750-$1,850 (around $1,300 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Monongalia County will actually do.

What a system would cost here

With 93.2% of Monongalia 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.

Monongalia County's rank among West Virginia counties

Nationally, Monongalia County, WV is the 897-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within West Virginia alone it ranks 39 of 55.

Further reading

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