The Rumford Water District has signed a deal with Poland Spring Water Co., that will allow it to draw up to 150 million gallons of water per year for 15 years, from two district wells.
But Water District Superintendant Brian Gagnon says, under the deal, the town's needs will come first. "We come first, and we're holding an amount of up to a million gallons a day that would be used for the townspeople."
Gagnon says in addition to estimated $200,000 to $300,000 in revenues a year from the sale of the water to Poland Spring, Rumford will also get just over $1 million from the company over the next four years, to use as it sees fit.
That's in addition to some other investments by Poland Springs. The agreement also provides what Gagnon calls a "pathway" to the construction of a bottling plant in Rumford, which would provide jobs and tax revenue.
Poland Spring is owned by Nestle Waters North America.
