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Talk is intensifying on ways to help property owners in the Clarksburg Historic District hook up to public sewer and water lines in an effort to stem what county officials say is a public health hazard.

The septic systems on most of the 20 properties in the district are aging and expected to fail in the near future, but are on lots too small to dig new septic fields, said Alan Soukop, senior environmental planner for the county's Department of Environmental Protection.

Property owners find the cost of connecting to public water and sewer lines prohibitive and at least one owner is taking his plea for help to county and state officials.

"At this point I don't have much hope for anything," said Pat Darby, president of the Clarksburg Chamber of Commerce who has been leading the efforts to get public officials to step in. Darby inherited land on Frederick Road near Redgrave Place.

He fears some property owners will be forced to abandon their homes.

The county is updating its water and sewer plan to address the problem, Soukop said. The new plan is due out this summer, he said.

But exactly how and when the problem will be addresses is uncertain.

The County Council declared the Clarksburg Historic District a public health hazard on Oct.7, said Keith Levchenko, senior legislative analyst for the council. This moves the district up to the front of the line of areas waiting to connect to public water and sewer, he said.

A survey conducted in 2007 found 14 communities, including sections of Damascus, Laytonsville, Rockville, Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac, with similar problems.

The cost of connecting to public water and sewer has gone from about $200 per foot in 2004 to about $1,000 per foot today, Levchenko said.

Darby estimates that might bring the cost to $500,000 to connect his property to public water and sewer.

Other properties may be close enough to share the cost of the pipes, Soukop said.

Feeling desperate and afraid to wait, Darby met late last month with Washington Suburban Sanitary Commissioner Gene Counihan, State Del. Kathleen M. Dumais (D-Dist. 15) of Rockville, Clarksburg ombudsman Kathleen Mitchell, County Councilwoman Nancy M. Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park, Councilman Marc Elrich (D-At large) of Takoma Park and Diane Schwartz-Jones, assistant chief administrative officer representing County Executive Isiah Leggett.

Levchenko also attended and Councilman Michael J. Knapp (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown joined by phone.

Darby spoke separately with U.S. Rep. Donna F. Edwards (D-Dist. 4) of Fort Washington about the issue, he said.

Although officials seemed to have grasped the need for extending the water and sewer lines to the homes and were alarmed at the cost, they did not devise an immediate solution.

"The conclusion is there probably won't be anything done this year," Dumais said after the meeting.

WSSC offers a small subsidy for the connection in areas that are declared a public health hazard, Soukop said. The subsidy is about $15,000 per property, he said. At one time that would have been a significant share of the cost, he said.

Many property owners do not want to admit they have a problem because that will lower their property values and make selling their properties more difficult, Darby said.

It is too late to introduce a local bill into the General Assembly this year, Dumais said. She is hoping to work with Prince George's County delegates to craft a bill that would provide assistance to affected communities in both counties because WSSC serves both.

WSSC also has to replace hundreds of aging sewer lines. A change in the law might allow lawmakers to add the cost for extending sewer and water lines where needed for health reasons to the overall cost of replacing the old sewer and water lines and therefore spread out the cost among all taxpayers.