2001 RealAudio Septic systems are an unpleasant reality of country living.
Most rural homes have a tank buried in the ground to treat wastewater.
A citizens group is trying to alleviate the problem by working to extend a sewer line up the shore from Duluth. Some people think the sewer might cause more problems than it would solve. Margaret Thomas stands on the shore of Lake Superior, outside her home in Duluth. Thomas can smell some of her neighbors' failing septic systems. The discharge from holding tanks isn't being thoroughly purified because of the clay soils, high water table, and bedrock close to the surface.