Searcy County, AR's soil, for a septic absorption field

Very limited

In Searcy County, AR, 85.7% 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 - 85.7% of it sits in USDA's most-constrained bucket. Searcy County covers 665.879 square miles and counts 7,836 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Searcy County, AR 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 Searcy County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Searcy 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Searcy County, AR is the 1,646-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Arkansas alone it ranks 62 of 75.

Before you act on this

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