What Providence County, RI's soil rates for a septic system

Very limited

Soil across 71.7% of Providence County, RI rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. This is the reading that pushes a project toward an engineered system rather than a conventional one, and it covers 71.7% of Providence County's land. Providence County covers 409.484 square miles and counts 675,912 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Nothing about Providence County, RI'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 Providence County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Providence 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.

Providence County's rank among Rhode Island counties

Nationally, Providence County, RI is the 2,410-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Rhode Island alone it ranks 1 of 5.

Before you act on this

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