Rumford Water District evaluating Poland Spring proposal
The Rumford Water District hosted a public meeting last week spelling out details of a proposed 15-year agreement with Poland Spring Water Co. for up to 150 million gallons per year.
The Lewiston Sun Journal reported that the draft agreement with Nestle Waters North America, Poland Spring’s parent company, would generate between $200,000 and $300,000 in annual payments to the district for the extracted water on top of $144,000 in leasing fees for Poland Spring’s use of well and water extraction equipment owned by the district.
The newspaper reported that Nestle Waters North America also would create a $1 million investment fund for Rumford, paying $250,000 per year over the first four years, on top of property taxes, annual payments in lieu of taxes and other fees spelled out in the agreement.
The draft agreement faces further evaluation by the water district’s board of trustees.
Other sites under evaluation
Rumford is one of three sites identified by Stamford, Conn.-based Nestle Waters this spring as being under consideration for a $50 million to $60 million Poland Spring bottling plant. Other sites being evaluated are the Penobscot County town of Lincoln and the greater Fryeburg area in western Maine.
Earlier this month, the Bangor Daily News reported that Lincoln's bid to host the Poland Spring bottling plant could hinge on whether the region's freight train service can improve its track speeds on the Lincoln-to-Waterville track line owned by Pan-Am Railways.
Nestle Waters North America has stated it hopes to build the plant within the next two to five years, creating 40 to 50 jobs. Since 2000, Poland Spring has opened bottling plants in Hollis and Kingfield. It has 850 full-time employees and produces 900 million gallons of water a year in Maine.
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PUC approves Poland Spring plan to tap Lincoln's water
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