Water rights activists denounce potential sale of Polonai Spring and say buyer identified in news reports poses “new threat” to Maine water resources
FRYEBURG, Maine – Water rights activists on Saturday spoke out about the potential sale of the Poland Spring bottled water brand, saying the buyer identified in news reports poses a new threat to state resources.
A crowd that organizers estimated reached about 100 gathered at the Community Water Justice-sponsored rally to express their concerns.
Nickie Sekera, co-founder of the group, said she was concerned that a private equity firm might be less receptive than Nestle, relieving the company of any responsibility it promised to Maine communities.
Nestle was not a good neighbor, “but at least a corporation like Nestle will be sensitive to a bad public image to some extent,” she said.
Nestle announced in June that it is considering selling its brands of bottled water in North America. In Maine, Nestle has more than half a dozen water sources and two bottling plants, employing 860 people.
Participants in the rallies are worried about the news that the Swiss company is negotiating the potential sale with One Rock Capital Partners LLC, a private equity firm in New York.
Nestle declined to comment on the negotiations. A One Rock spokesman did not send a message.
Brands to be sold include Deer Park, Ozarka, Ice Mountain, Zephyrhills and Arrowhead, along with Poland Spring.
Maulian Dana, the tribal ambassador of the Penobscot nation, said that the people of Penobscot “know how precious and life-giving water is for our tribal communities and for the entire state.”
“We oppose the action proposed by Nestle and One Rock Capital Partners – and remind friends and neighbors that water is life,” she said in a statement.