Piscataquis County, ME: the USDA septic-suitability picture

Very limited

Piscataquis County, ME's SSURGO dominant class comes back "Very limited", covering 89.7% of the county. A standard gravity system routinely fails on ground like this; the same share of the county falls in USDA's worst absorption-field bucket outright. The county spans 3,960.847 square miles, home to 17,432 people.

What this number does and doesn't tell you

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Piscataquis County, ME - never a reading for one specific parcel. Budget $750-$1,850 for a real perc test on any specific parcel - that's the only figure a permit application accepts.

Piscataquis County: conventional vs. engineered cost

89.7% of Piscataquis County carrying a "Very limited" reading changes the realistic budget here. 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.

How Piscataquis County, ME compares

Among the 3,058 rated counties on this site, Piscataquis County, ME ranks 1,305 most-constrained nationally, and 6 of 16 within Maine.

Before you act on this

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