I am writing this letter in response to Peter Geiger’s letter Sept. 6 urging people not to sign a petition to impose a tax on Poland Spring Water Corp. for the water that it extracts. Are we really so gullible as to believe that Poland Spring, a subsidiary of the Nestle Co., a Swiss-owned corporation, is doing the state of Maine a big favor while draining away its natural resources?

Water is the most precious resource on Earth. It is finite and irreplaceable. Ounce for ounce, it costs more to buy than oil.

Oil is also extracted from the ground. However, oil production is complex and costly.

Maine’s pristine water basically just needs to be pumped from the ground into a bottling plant and then into bottles or tankers and then shipped all over the world to make tremendous profits for Nestle. The profits from our water are unencumbered by taxes, while the companies in Alaska pay the owners of the oil, the residents, for their oil. Every year, Alaskan residents receive a royalty check from oil profits in amounts from $1,000 to $1,800. Our poor state could use some extra revenue to bring its water structures into compliance.

People should remember that water is obtained from aquifers, and aquifers have been known to run dry. There is an old expression that says, “Watcha gonna do when the well runs dry?”

Joan Collins, Lewiston

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