What Richardson County, NE's soil rates for a septic system

Very limited

85% of Richardson County, NE'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 85% of the county. Richardson County covers 551.841 square miles and counts 7,666 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Richardson County, NE - never a reading for one specific parcel. A site-specific perc test, usually $750-$1,850, is what a health department will actually require before permitting a lot in Richardson County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Richardson 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.

How Richardson County, NE compares

Nationally, Richardson County, NE is the 1,693-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Nebraska alone it ranks 36 of 93.

Further reading

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