Septic soil in Surry County, VA, by the numbers

Very limited

In Surry County, VA, 86.3% of the surveyed land carries a "Very limited" rating for a standard septic drain field. This is the reading that pushes a project toward an engineered system rather than a conventional one, and it covers 86.3% of Surry County's land. Surry County covers 278.949 square miles and counts 6,579 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

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

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Surry 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.

Surry County's rank among Virginia counties

Nationally, Surry County, VA is the 1,593-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 26 of 110.

Related guides

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