In these days of drought, I have grave concerns about Nestle extracting huge amounts of water from the depleted and fragile water tables around Maine.

Nestle has a track record of targeting small, rural communities with economic struggles and without adequate restrictions on water extraction, seeking 20-year-plus contracts in places where folks may be vulnerable to exaggerated claims of new jobs and underestimated projections of infrastructure demands. Poland, Fryeburg, Hollis, Rumford, Kingfield, Denmark and several others are all targets of this corporate water-extraction plan.

Maine has been experiencing a serious drought, as have many other parts of the country. Friends are worrying about their wells or have actually run out of water. It is clear, people must be vigilant in protecting water sources with regulated limits to water table extraction, with at least: 

• A set fee for every gallon extracted (and monitored independently), with the money going to the community.

• Guaranteed year-round employment for a specific number of local people.

• Road usage confined to normal business hours.

• No pumping during periods of drought.

The water resource is owned by all Maine citizens, not just those with power and money. Without good, clean, accessible water, Maine could lose millions of tourist dollars and thousands of jobs.

People need to act locally in towns and at the state level to protect that precious resource and keep fresh, clean water accessible for generations to come.

Dorothy Raymond, Norway