VILLAGERS in Wormley and Hambledon are being forced to pay thousands of pounds to connect to the main public sewer following a £12m environment improvement scheme.
Southern Water started the scheme in November, 2007, to give 170 properties an option of connecting to mains drainage for the first time.
But due to seepage from private cesspits, more than 50 households have been told they face prosecution if they do not connect straight away.
Members of the Wormley District Drainage Scheme (WAADA) had campaigned for the connection on health and safety grounds for more than two decades, and the project was seen as a major breakthrough.
However, residents were shocked when the company said they would have to pay for external piping, from properties to the new sewer, themselves.
Each household has received a quote from Southern Water for the works, and it could potentially cost in excess of £8,000 per property.
The payment terms specified by Southern Water are 10 per cent on acceptance of the quote, and the remaining 90 per cent within three months of the drains becoming operational between February and March, 2009.
But local residents and WAADA members have requested Southern Water offer staged payments to residents.
Mike Weston, chairman of WAADA, said it would be sensible to allow payment over three years, instead of three months, as more households could then afford to connect.
However, a spokesman for Southern Water said despite the economic downturn, its prices
are competitive and warrant no change to the company's payment policies.
He added Southern Water had spent a "considerable" amount of money on the initial infrastructure, and it was not unreasonable residents should pay the one-off connection charges themselves.