A Master Plan for Courthouse Village - College of Humanities and ...

Soil Conditions and Development Potential
The role played by soils in choosing building site locations and sanitary facilities
is extremely significant and should be a vital part of the local land use planning
program. Of the County's 188,800 total acres, only about 17,000 acres or nine
percent are capable of supporting intensive residential development with physical
modifications. In order to support high density development, these areas would
require water and sewer systems. Septic tanks would require some modifications
in these areas for lower densities.
In the 2023 Comprehensive Plan, three development potential categories were
used in analyzing Goochland County's soils: slight; moderate; and severe. In
considering soils suitable for building site developments, three major soil types
are included in the slight category: Georgeville, Madison and Pacolet. These soil
types comprise approximately nine percent of the total land area in Goochland
County. The moderate category consists of several major soil types in the
County: Masada, Mayodan, Nasan and Tatum. These soil types have moderate
limitations for development due primarily to slope and low strength. Although the
four soil types listed are the most prevalent in this category, there are several
other soil types included in this category in Goochland County. In fact, this
category of soils makes up a majority of the soils in the County. The major soils
found in the severe category include Creedmoor, Enon, Fluvanna, Wedowee,
Monacan, Pinkston, Sedgefield, Tuckahoe, Vance and Wilkes. These soils have
severe limitations for development due to slope, shrink-swell potential, low
strength and wetness. These soils comprise approximately forty percent of the
land area in Goochland County. Thus, soils are a major limiting factor for
development in Courthouse as well as the County as a whole (Goochland, 2003).
In considering the capability of soils to support septic tanks, there are no soil
types which have slight limitations for development. Most soils are classified as
having moderate limitations; while some forty percent have severe limitations.
The soils in Goochland County have high concentrations of clay which provide
slow percolation for septic tank absorption fields. Engineering modifications can
be carried out which will increase the capacity of some soils to support septic
tank drain fields. However, specific soil conditions should be studied when
evaluating development proposals for specific sites. The overriding danger of
residential development with septic tanks in areas with severe soil limitations is
disease.
The soil characteristics exhibited in the severe category restrict the dilution of
effluent drainage by causing surface pooling due to the high clay content of the
soil. If this leads to contamination of water supplies, it could result in the
occurrence of typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis, staph, salmonella and sugella in
epidemic proportions. Contamination of water supplies created by a
malfunctioning waste disposal unit can have serious implications. The dangers
are real and should be closely monitored.
A Master Plan for Courthouse Village Page 45 of 96
Spring, 2006
Goochland County