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Rosemont resident Anna Bondarenko lives in a one-story rancher at the bottom of Chick Lane with her two sisters.

She and her neighbors have seen their fair share of water trouble, since they are so near to the end of the Chick Lane water line, one of the narrowest stretches of pipeline served by Brunswick public water.

"There are times when … the water won't even stay on in the shower there's so little pressure. It just comes down to a little trickle and that's it," she said. "We're paying for our water, why shouldn't we have good pressure? Why shouldn't we have clear water?"

But now Bondarenko and the occupants of the 80 other Rosemont homes serviced by Brunswick city waterlines, are facing a more serious water problem.

In a move county officials say may be without precedent in the history of the state, Brunswick's leaders have proposed to cut off Rosemont's public water service, effective May 25, 2009.

"Right now this is very much on people's minds and this is probably the problem that they feel is the priority and needs to be taken care of," Bondarenko said. "We've lived here for almost 20 years now and we've paid our water bill on time every time and … someone needs to make a decision. At this point it's almost like our hands are tied. When we moved in we were told this was city water and we didn't know this was going to be a problem."

Aging lines are at the center of the issue. Rosemont's water lines, like many older lines across Frederick County, are deteriorating and will eventually require an estimated $3.3 million to replace or repair. Brunswick and Rosemont have been in discussions for 2 � years to determine who owns the lines, and who, therefore, should foot the bill for maintaining and replacing them.

Rosemont does not have its own water service – or ambulances, fire company, police or other services – so Brunswick has sold its residents water since the village's incorporation in 1953 under an unwritten contract. As such, Rosemont and county officials have argued that the lines are not Rosemont's responsibility.

In response to what the city saw as a failure to resolve these water issues, Brunswick sent a letter via certified mail Oct. 14 to all Rosemont residents notifying them about a Nov. 18 special public hearing to consider a resolution to terminate service.

Since receiving that letter, Rosemont residents have been working diligently to find a way to halt such a cut-off. On Nov. 18, a large contingent of Rosemont residents plan to speak at Brunswick's public hearing on the issue. Rosemont's leaders and the village's attorney, John R. Clapp, are putting together a legal argument against the move.

Bondarenko said she thinks Brunswick will probably be stopped from cutting off Rosemont's water one way or another, but she is still worried enough that she plans to speak out against the proposal at the Nov. 18 hearing.

"I think the ultimate bottom line of this whole thing is somebody is going to have to take over responsibility of these lines, and that's either Brunswick or Rosemont," she said.

"I don't really think they're going to cut the water off. They may make the decision to cut it off but I think the state or the county would step in and stop that from happening and try to work out a solution."