I am writing in response to a letter to the editor printed Sept. 16. The letter mentions that the people of Maine must be gullible 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. The opinion goes on to state that water is finite and nonrenewable.

Someone needs to set the record straight. Maine averages 42 inches of statewide annual precipitation, and roughly 20 inches of the annual amount recharges sand and gravel aquifers across the state. Water is a rapidly renewable resource.

I monitor water levels in Poland Spring’s sand and gravel aquifers. I measure stream-flow in streams near our operations. I record surface-water levels in water bodies. This is my job, month after month, year after year.

I watch water levels rise and fall in response to precipitation by taking monthly water levels. After the spring rains, it takes about two weeks for the water to percolate down and reach the water table. My water-level data are submitted to towns and the state and, thereby, become part of the public record. The same recharge occurs after the November rains, and the cycle is repeated again. The water cycle provides a clean, rapidly renewable resource for Poland Spring.

To suggest that we pump the water out of the ground and into the bottle falls far short of the daily reality at Poland Spring.

Mark Laplante, Lewiston