Ouachita Parish, LA Shrink-Swell Risk

Ouachita Parish, LA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Ouachita Parish, LA: USDA's soil survey rates 63.4% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (4.67% linear extensibility). A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

What Ouachita Parish's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Ouachita Parish can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Ouachita Parish, LA rating "Moderate", a geotechnical report is still worthwhile before a build, just less urgent than in a high-risk county. A geotechnical report runs $1,000-$5,000, typically around $2,700. Foundation repair, if a specific lot turns out to differ from the county average, runs $5,000-$15,000.

Ouachita Parish's rank among Louisiana counties

Nationally, Ouachita Parish, LA is the 354-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Louisiana alone it ranks 33 of 64. Ouachita Parish, LA is 610 square miles with a population of 157,874.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Burleigh County, ND and Clinton County, MO are worth a look for comparison.

How this reading is built, and its real limits · Moisture management: the cheap fix that works on any soil

More of Louisiana

Every county in Louisiana is on this site, including West Baton Rouge Parish, LA and St. Martin Parish, LA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.