Developers in Rural Areas - Effluence in Groundwater

The house the Johns bought uses what is commonly known as an alternative or nonconventional septic system, an advanced wastewater-treatment system that enables developers to build in remote rural areas not serviced by municipal sewers and lacking drainage appropriate for conventional septic systems. The problem is that these new systems are often quirky, demanding frequent inspections and maintenance to avoid leaching effluence into groundwater, which is typically the source of drinking water in these rural areas.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/1173/