Signatures for the Act to Preserve Maine’s Drinking Water Supply are being reviewed to determine whether this initiative will go to the voters. If you have read the proposal, you know it does little to preserve drinking water. Instead, it asks Mainers to treat spring water the same way that Alaskans treat their oil reserves – by taxing it to form a public trust. As a Poland Spring employee, I have a vested interest in what happens; having seen my property taxes double in the last five years, I’d love to have a trust fund.

Unfortunately, the tax won’t work; it’s based on grossly inflated profit margins. While it’s true that under certain circumstances (for example, Fenway or the Fleet Center), people pay more for bottled water than they do for gas, Poland Spring does not get revenue from these sales. Instead, the company sells to discount stores, where the 3-cents-per-bottle tax would increase customer prices by as much as 25 percent and exceed Poland Spring’s annual profit.

This approach is based on the premise that Mainers are entitled to compensation for keeping the environment clean. Supporters of the referendum note on their Web site that “the public and the state get no monetary return” for efforts such as installing septic systems and complying with environmental laws. I disagree. Maine’s land-use laws protect everyone and have done more to help the public, our marine resources and tourism than to advance the cause of Poland Spring.

Tamara Risser, continuous improvement manager, Poland Spring