For the fifth time since it received its original permit in 2005, the Poland Spring bottling company is asking the town of Denmark in western Maine to renew a water extraction permit for another five years.<\/p>\n
Poland Spring wants to continue pumping up to 432,000 gallons a day or no more than 105.1 million gallons in any 365-day period from land it owns in the town. The Cold Spring site in Denmark is one of 10 places in Maine that the company relies on for its bottled water.<\/p>\n
The request comes a year after Denmark, like so many other parts of Maine, faced a severe and persistent drought. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, conditions have recently improved in the region and Denmark is no longer in a drought or considered abnormally dry.<\/p>\n
But at a public hearing on the permit Tuesday night, residents told the Select Board that at least a couple of local wells are running dry. Many also expressed concern about Long Pond, a small, four-mile long, spring-fed pond that they say has remained several feet below normal. Some homeowners\u2019 docks are essentially stranded. Even Poland Spring\u2019s monitoring gauges are now 10 feet from the pond, said resident Jeff Trickel, who shared photos with the board.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has just been a significant loss of pond water, and these gauges aren\u2019t measuring anything anymore. They\u2019re just on dry land. So what they\u2019re accomplishing, I don\u2019t know,\u201d Trickel said.<\/p>\n
While Poland Spring does not withdraw water directly from the pond, a state permit for \u201clarge-scale pumping or extraction of groundwater, spring water and water from aquifers\u201d was first approved in Denmark in 2005. Since then, residents have grown more aware of the effects of climate change and more protective of the resource. Some say that at the very least the company\u2019s next permit should require a reduction in pumping after three consecutive months or more of drought.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to run out of water, and I\u2019m very pleased that the town is taking measures to make sure that people are supported in curing issues to their well,\u201d said Cullen Ryan, who built a camp on the pond 27 years ago. \u201cHowever, that\u2019s not my end game to have a working well and a missing pond.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the company maintains that there is no direct relationship between its pumping operations and water levels on Long Pond. Matt Reynolds, a hydrogeologist hired by Poland Spring, said the effects of pumping don\u2019t reach as far as the pond.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe groundwater is low, Long Pond is low and that\u2019s due to the drought conditions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Mark Dubois, the company\u2019s senior natural resource manager, said the watershed that surrounds Cold Springs receives about 46 inches of precipitation a year, for a total volume of 4.3 billion gallons of water falls in the watershed. But Dubois said Poland Spring only withdraws about 2.4% of the total and regular monitoring of nearby springs, groundwater, residential wells and surface water shows there is no adverse effect from their pumping operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve pumped through extreme drought and drought \u2026 And we believe there\u2019s going to be no significant climate change in the next five years that would affect our ability to operate here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That comment drew the ire of residents, such as Audrey Rabinowitz, who previously served on the town\u2019s water ordinance review committee.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we only have to look at the past year, the past two years,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s nonsensical.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rabinowitz also challenged the company\u2019s assertion that there is no relation between pumping operations and the pond.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe USGS [U.S. Geological Survey] has said \u2026 that there is absolutely a connection. They\u2019ve studied the region,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, if it\u2019s the applicant\u2019s position that there\u2019s not one, then they have to do more than say it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In late 2024, Denmark residents unanimously approved a large-scale water extraction ordinance with added powers for the town to reduce or halt pumping when water in an aquifer drops below a certain level. The revised ordinance also includes language to require water extractors, such as Poland Spring, to apply for a new permit when their ownership changes. As a new applicant, that would involve a more stringent review process. But because the ordinance was approved a month after Poland Spring\u2019s parent company, Blue Triton, merged with Primo Brands, the company\u2019s position is that the new ordinance does not apply to it.<\/p>\n
Rabinowitz disagrees.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile they were having merger conversations, they were also negotiating with us to make the ordinance less onerous to them,\u201d she said. \u201cI suggest the new ordinance applies to them, and that it mandates that we consider them as a new applicant, not a renewal applicant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, Primo Brands reported sales of more than $6.6 billion. The town of Denmark is not compensated for the water that is extracted from the Cold Spring aquifer. But Poland Spring pays about $34,000 in annual property taxes and has contributed funding for the fire department, fireworks and lighting for a ballfield.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they\u2019re advocating for is primarily concerned with making money, regardless of what they tell us,\u201d resident Jill McCain said. \u201cI ask that you put our residents first, above the interests of Poland Spring and do everything in your power to protect us from our wells going dry and the long-term damage that\u2019s being done to the ponds and aquifers in our area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Late last summer in the midst of a persistent drought, Poland Spring reported that it was voluntarily cutting back water withdrawals at sites in Denmark and Fryeburg. But when a reporter with the national advocacy journalism outlet More Perfect Union<\/a>\u00a0looked at the numbers, he found that during the month of September, Poland Spring was taking more water from both places than it did in September the two previous years.<\/p>\n Maine Public\u2019s own review of the monthly withdrawal data found that over the past two years, between January and September, Poland Spring\u2019s withdrawals increased by more than 40% in Fryeburg and nearly 23% in Denmark.<\/p>\n When asked at the public hearing why the company reported that it reduced withdrawals when they actually increased, Mark Dubois said that in 2024 when it started getting dry, Poland Spring was \u201cpulling about 71%\u201d of its allowed 105 million gallon total. In 2025, it was about 78% of the total. And this year, pumping has been cut back to \u201csometimes below 100 gallons a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been adaptively managing the site to climate and alert levels,\u201d Dubois said. \u201cSo we can turn it down and we can watch the aquifer rebound. And that\u2019s what we did this year.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of Poland Spring\u2019s permit renewal, Laurie LaMountain, who also served on the town\u2019s water extraction review committee, said there should be an extensive assessment of the aquifer. She said one hasn\u2019t been done since 2008, despite the fact that the large-scale water extraction ordinance calls for one every 10 years.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only is it way overdue \u2026 recurrent and persistent weather patterns point to climate change and a new normal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Poland Spring\u2019s current permit expires at the end of the year.<\/p>\n