Ouachita County, AR: the USDA septic-suitability picture

Very limited

USDA puts Ouachita County, AR at "Very limited" for septic absorption fields, the dominant reading across 88.1% of the county's soil. This is the reading that pushes a project toward an engineered system rather than a conventional one, and it covers 88.1% of Ouachita County's land. For scale: 732.721 square miles and 21,684 people call Ouachita County home.

Before you rely on this for one lot

Nothing about Ouachita County, AR's SSURGO figure applies to a specific address - it's a county-wide average. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific perc test, running about $750-$1,850 (typically near $1,300).

Budgeting for a system in Ouachita County, AR

Ouachita County's soil reading pushes the likely outcome toward an engineered system rather than a conventional one. Conventional systems run $3,000-$8,000 where they pass; where they don't, engineered alternatives (mound or aerobic treatment, whichever the health department requires) run $10,000-$40,000 - budget toward the higher figure until a perc test says otherwise.

Ouachita County's rank among Arkansas counties

Among the 3,058 rated counties on this site, Ouachita County, AR ranks 1,462 most-constrained nationally, and 50 of 75 within Arkansas.

Further reading

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