Septic soil in Roane County, WV, by the numbers

Very limited

In Roane County, WV, 98.2% of the surveyed land carries a "Very limited" rating for a standard septic drain field. Practically, that rules out a simple gravity system for most of the county - 98.2% of it sits in USDA's most-constrained bucket. Roane County covers 483.563 square miles and counts 13,540 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Roane County, WV at once, not any single address. A site-specific perc test, usually $750-$1,850, is what a health department will actually require before permitting a lot in Roane County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Roane 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.

Roane County's rank among West Virginia counties

Nationally, Roane County, WV is the 221-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within West Virginia alone it ranks 7 of 55.

Related guides

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