I am writing because I am very concerned about the loss of a precious Maine resource, with no benefit to the people of the state. Poland Spring Water (actually Nestle, not even a U.S. company) is hauling millions of gallons of water out of the state every day.

The Middle East has oil and we have water, which is more important to life. Those countries get paid great amounts for their oil, but we don’t get paid much for our water. Maybe if we were paid the ever-increasing value of the water, the sales tax could at least be reduced or even eliminated. Or the individual residents could receive royalties similar to the royalties paid to Alaskans for their oil.

In addition to the loss of the resource itself, the trucks run 24/7 over our roads. These trucks are three-axle, which are very heavy and are wearing out the roads. As a result the routes they travel are having to be repaved regularly, an ongoing expense to the state with no offsetting benefit.

This situation is particularly upsetting in the current environment, with many people’s wells running dry while our water goes out of state. In some cases that means that people have to go to the grocery store and purchase the very water that has been taken plus the bottling cost. This is an outrage.

David Lanzo

Rangeley

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