Otsego County, NY's soil, for a septic absorption field

Very limited

Soil across 93.7% of Otsego County, NY rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. That reading means a conventional system is a poor bet here - 93.7% of Otsego County lands in the strictest "very limited" bucket USDA uses. Otsego County covers 1,001.738 square miles and counts 60,524 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Nothing about Otsego County, NY'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 Otsego County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Otsego 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.

Otsego County's rank among New York counties

Nationally, Otsego County, NY is the 832-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within New York alone it ranks 19 of 61.

Related guides

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