Seacoast Online - Water group will continue to meet

Marilyn Wentworth calls for volunteers for various subcommittees during Sunday's SOH2O meeting.

By Steve Bodnar

KENNEBUNK — A white minivan with a peace symbol on its hood and the words "Save Our Water" printed on its side door sat parked outside the Unitarian Universalist Church on July 13.

More than 80 concerned residents and activists walked past the vehicle — some snapping pictures — as they poured into the church for an educational meeting to discuss the impacts of the mass bottling of water.

The scene, which has become a familiar one in Kennebunk over the past month, was a display that local activists are continuing their efforts to examine the impacts of water extraction, prompted by a proposed deal between the Water District and Poland Spring.

Despite an announcement that the Water District trustees will convene today, July 17, to consider indefinitely tabling further action on the bottling agreement, some residents said there is still cause for concern.

The KKW is a quasi-municipal water utility serving Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Wells, Ogunquit and parts of Arundel, Biddeford and York. Town officials from the communities have no governing presence over the district.

Residents' concerns

"There's still more questions than answers at this point," said Bill Grabin, a member of Save Our Water, before the Sunday meeting got underway.

Grabin said the purpose of the meeting, which was hosted by the activist group Save Our Water, or SOH2O, was to continue to address concerns regarding water extraction, and spread the group's cause.

The proposed agreement between the KKW and Poland Spring would allow the extraction of a maximum of 300 gallons/minute, or about 432,000 gallons a day. The water would be pumped from the Branch Brook Aquifer in Wells to a facility on Route 109 in Sanford, then transported to a Nestlé-owned facility in Hollis.

Labbe said due to extra water supplies that were developed in summer 2007, the water district gained 3 million gallons of water a day. He said the sale of some of the district's spring water could have brought in nearly $1 million a year and a minimum of $250,000.

"We said OK, now we have 3 million gallons of extra spring water, if we could sell a piece of that before it goes back into the brook, then we could profit from it," Labbe Friday during an interview at his office.

He said a number of protective measures were set in place within the agreement to limit water extraction, including being able to shut down extraction process for 60 days if the water district's ability to operate in accordance with environmental permits and licenses is jeopardized.

"There was a lot of misinformation out there that really whipped up the crowd," Labbe said.

He said the water district hadn't realized the amount of opposition with which the proposed agreement would be met.

"We underestimated or didn't understand the feelings out there towards the bottled water industry," he said. "We have been doing business as usual for years."

Residents have brought up concerns about the impact the water extraction would have on water supplies for homes and businesses; possible depletion of natural habitat in the area; and the negative impact of tanker trucks on local roads.

The Sunday meeting featured Cathryn Thorup, a resident of Rangeley. She spoke about her experience with water bottling companies and how Nestle, the parent company of Poland Spring, has affected her community.

After Sunday's discussion, people were asked to sign up for various committees within the Save Our Water group, including legislation, watchdog and education committees.

During the meeting Nathan Maynard addressed the crowd while holding his 2-year-old nephew.

"It's hard to envision our future right now," he said later. "That's why I brought my 2-year-old nephew up there."

Maynard has a degree in earth science, and said after learning about the proposed agreement he knew he wanted to get involved.

State Rep. Rick Burns also attended the meeting after he and other legislators received a number of e-mails from residents.

Burns told people at the meeting that if they want their voices to be heard on water extraction issues in Maine, they needed to contact members of the state government so that their voices can be represented at the state level

"(Bottling companies) should have no rank to extract water from a water district," he said after the meeting.

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