“No corporation shall engage in water withdrawals in the Town of Shapleigh. … The term “engage” shall include, but not be limited to, the physical extraction of water, and the buying and/or selling of water extracted within the Town of Shapleigh.”
On March 28, 2009, Shapleigh residents voted for a rights-based water extraction ordinance that effectively prohibits Nestlé Corp, owner of the Poland Springs label, from extracting groundwater to fill their water bottles. The vote passed 114 to 66.
The ordinance bans large-scale water extraction on town-owned land, state-owned land or privately owned land.