San Miguel County, CO's soil, for a septic absorption field

Very limited

In San Miguel County, CO, 89.5% of the surveyed land carries a "Very limited" rating for a standard septic drain field. That reading means a conventional system is a poor bet here - 89.5% of San Miguel County lands in the strictest "very limited" bucket USDA uses. San Miguel County covers 1,286.725 square miles and counts 7,819 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of San Miguel County, CO 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 San Miguel County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given San Miguel 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.

San Miguel County's rank among Colorado counties

Nationally, San Miguel County, CO is the 1,325-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Colorado alone it ranks 19 of 63.

Related guides

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