Septic soil in Sevier County, TN, by the numbers

Very limited

Soil across 89.3% of Sevier County, TN rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. Expect the ground itself to work against a plain gravity system; USDA's strictest bucket alone covers 89.3% of the county. Sevier County covers 592.518 square miles and counts 100,184 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Sevier County, TN - 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 Sevier County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Sevier 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 Sevier County, TN compares

Nationally, Sevier County, TN is the 1,341-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Tennessee alone it ranks 24 of 95.

Related guides

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