Voters in Shapleigh over the weekend approved two measures that temporarily block Poland Spring from using the town as a new source of bottled water.
Shapleigh residents on Saturday approved by a vote of 204-38 a six-month moratorium on testing and large-scale water extraction to give the town time to develop an ordinance on water extraction, according to the Portland Press Herald. Voters in a 183-49 vote also denied Poland Spring access to town land for testing procedures.
Poland Spring, owned by Nestle Waters North America Inc., had hoped to drill about a dozen test wells to determine whether a 150-acre site could be turned into a new water source, according to the paper. Company officials said they plan to move forward with the testing if the ordinance allows for large-scale water extraction.
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