Septic soil in Russell County, KY, by the numbers

Very limited

Soil across 58.6% of Russell County, KY rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. Practically, that rules out a simple gravity system for most of the county - 58.6% of it sits in USDA's most-constrained bucket. Russell County covers 253.26 square miles and counts 18,458 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Nothing about Russell County, KY'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 Russell County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Russell 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.

Russell County's rank among Kentucky counties

Nationally, Russell County, KY is the 2,752-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Kentucky alone it ranks 114 of 119.

Related guides

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