Septic companies in Pittsburgh, PA

What the ground in Pittsburgh is like

The USDA soil survey rates mapped ground in Pittsburgh for septic drain-field suitability across roughly 55 square miles. About 78% of the rated ground is classed "Very limited", meaning the soil has one or more features unfavorable for a conventional drain field, and the limits generally cannot be overcome without major soil reclamation, special design or expensive installation.

In Pittsburgh, the leading limit is slope: the ground falls steeply enough that a level trench line is hard to hold. A drain field has to sit across the grade without concentrating flow downhill; on steeper parcels that layout gets tighter. The survey flags that limit on about 68% of the rated ground here.

The limiting features the survey records most often here:

• Slope67.9%
• Depth to bedrock53.9%
• Slow water movement31.3%
• Seepage, bottom layer28.1%

This is survey data for mapped areas, not a substitute for a site evaluation on your own lot. Conditions on a single parcel can differ from the map.

USDA NRCS SSURGO, ENG Septic Tank Absorption Fields · 77.9% Very limited · Slope · 64 map units · 55.37 sq mi · read 2026-08-30