Addressing Rumor and Misinformation about Fryeburg Maine's Relationship with Poland Spring/Nestlé Waters North America

• Is it true that Poland Spring/Nestle tried to force its way into Fryeburg by exhausting the town with law suits?
• Is it true that you stopped supporting the water supply program in the Kebribeyah camp in Ethiopia?
• Is it true that you refused to participate in the film Bottled Life?

Poland Spring has operated in Fryeburg, Maine, for 16 years. Poland Spring is in business for the long-term, therefore our relationships with local communities are very important. Here is a comment by the town’s former planning board chairman:

The company purchases water from the Fryeburg Water Company and no lawsuits were filed to do so. The only lawsuits involving the town and Poland Spring were the result of a Fryeburg Planning Board permit that was approved in 2005 to allow Poland Spring to construct a small building in East Fryeburg. The proposed building construction was not related in any way to the Fryeburg Water Company. The permit approved by the Fryeburg Planning Board was appealed to the Fryeburg Board of Appeals by several Fryeburg residents. The Maine Law Court eventually decided the case in 2009, which ruled in favor of Poland Spring and upheld the original planning board permit.

As to the decision of not participating in Bottled Life, we think that water is a crucial issue and regret that the film does not represent the company and its employees in an objective and fair manner. Open dialogue is critical to building trust and we felt the conversation about participating in the film was one-sided, so we declined.

Regarding the Kebribeyah camp in Ethiopia, the Jarrar Valley pipeline project was initiated and led by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to improve the access of clean water to refugees living in the Kebribeyah camp. Nestlé was one of the early donors for this project, a donation also supported by the provision of technical expertise in 2004. A second site visit had been planned for 2005, but due to rising security concerns in the region it was cancelled.

As the video mentions, the UNHCR plans were to mobilize other donors to take over the support for the project, with the overall objective being to hand the management of the pipeline over to the Ethiopian authorities. Today the pipeline is part of the Jarrar Valley Water Supply System. In 2010, the UNHCR further expanded the project by supporting the extension of the electricity grid to Jarrar Valley, thus improving both the capacity and the reliability of the Water Supply System.

(source)