Lawsuit: Poland Spring Water is committing 'colossal fraud'

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Lawsuit: Poland Spring Water is committing 'colossal fraud'
Marina Villeneuve, Associated Press
Updated 3:00 pm, Thursday, August 17, 2017


A lawsuit claims that Poland Spring Water is deceiving consumers with evergreen labels that say their bottle contains "100 percent natural spring water" that hails from Maine.

The class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Connecticut claims that parent company Nestle Waters North America is bottling common groundwater that doesn't meet the federal definition of spring water.

A Nestle Waters representative says the water meets all relevant federal and state regulations for spring water.

Nestle Waters settled a 2003 Connecticut lawsuit claiming Poland Spring's water was not sourced deep in the Maine woods.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Lawsuit-alleges-Poland-Springs-committing-11878298.php

[samnsara]

1. at least its not Purified water....

...and even tho its not pure 100% mountain run off I'm not going to join the suit cuz I enjoy their product

[democratisphere]

2. Corporate chiselers.

[jberryhill]

3. Never mind all that... Is it from Poland?

[procon]

4. This bottled water craze is a marketing gimmick and a colossal consumer ripoff.

Nestlé owns a number of other regional brands of bottled water, but any good water filter on your kitchen sink will give you comparable quality, not to mention reducing the amount of petro-based water bottles that you toss into the trash.

Rather than being collected from “pristine mountain or forest springs as the images on those labels depict, Poland Spring Water products all contain ordinary groundwater that defendant collects from wells it drilled in saturated plains or valleys where the water table is within a few feet of the earth’s surface,” the lawsuit claims.

...
The complaint also alleges that none of Nestlé’s eight sites in Maine are hydraulically connected to water that flows from the natural orifice of a genuine spring;

https://consumerist.com/2017/08/16/poland-spring-bottled-water-accused-of-being-a-colossal-fraud/

[FakeNoose]

5. Yes I agree 100%

However I also think that we Americans purchase bottled water in response to the lack of freely-available water fountains in public places. I'm in my 60s and I remember the days when it was common to see water fountains everywhere in public buildings, community parks, stores and shopping malls, even on city streets.

Now there are water fountains almost nowhere - why is that? I think it's because some Americans hate the thought of something benefiting poor and homeless people. They'd rather take it away from everyone than allow it to benefit "those people."

Now we have to bring our own bottled water from home, or buy it in whatever store, because it's not freely available anymore.

[jpak]

6. On college campuses, the have water bottle filling stations all over the place

Lots of students have them too.

[Plucketeer]

8. I agree with both of you

It's truly a laughable rip-off to pay a buck or two for a bottle of water. WATER!....for chrissakes! I think the lack of public fountains is just a move to FORCE folks to pay for 12oz of the stuff.

When DO we get to paying to have our car or our home filled with "purified mountain air!" ???

[NickB79]

12. My mother-in-law was horrified I let my daughter use a fountain

She was convinced there were any number of diseases lurking on those nozzles, just waiting to sicken her granddaughter.

[MADem]

14. Get a portable water bottle with filter

And fill up in the bathroom.

The problem with public fountains is that too many people are pigs. They blow their noses in them, wash their dicks in them, etc. It's a public health problem.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Brita-34-Ounce-Hard-Sided-Water-Bottle-with-1-Filter-BPA-Free-Moss-Green/49533082?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222228037407880&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=80436026329&wl4=pla-177682444129&wl5=9051717&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=49533082&wl13=&veh=sem

[canetoad]

7. Yep

Proud to say I have never, ever purchased bottled water. Have a ceramic Stefani filter which is excellent.

[procon]

10. Me too! I have a sink filter and a couple of reusable plastic bottles

that fill with water to take with me. Now they have flavored water for sale at a premium price, and my sister buys them by the case. I told her it was cheaper to buy a water bottle that has a fruit infusion insert and cut up her own lemons, oranges and strawberries, but she can't be bothered.

[NickB79]

11. You also lose the benefit of fluoridated water

Since we're on well water, we get fluoride treatments every dentist visit, and had a prescription for fluoride tablets for our daughter when she was little.

[progressoid]

15. What about your precious bodily fluids??

[jpak]

9. Poland Spring inks 15-year deal with Rumford Water District

http://www.mainebiz.biz/article/20170816/NEWS0101/170819964/poland-spring-inks-15-year-deal-with-rumford-water-district

Poland Spring Water Co. has signed a 15-year agreement with the Rumford Water District to draw up to 150 million gallons of water annually from two of the district's wells.

The Lewiston Sun Journal reported that the agreement signed Tuesday includes what water district trustee Brad Adley described as a pathway to a new bottling plant "that would bring much-needed jobs and tax base to Rumford."

On Monday, in an advance story of Tuesday's meeting, the Sun Journal reported that the agreement calls for Poland Spring to pay between $200,000 and $300,000 per year to the district based on current large-customer rates and that Nestle Waters would invest $250,000 per year over the first four years to create a $1 million investment fund.

Nestle Waters also agreed to spend $100,000 to find additional spring water sources in the Rumford area and would pay the water district $175,000 for an evaluation impact fee.

<more>

A far cry from the Original Poland Spring

[Leftofinsane]

13. Skip the plastic bottle

Distill your own.

[ProfessorGAC]

20. Be Careful With Distilled Water, Lefty

Too much water that has been demineralized by distillation can actually lead to hyponatremia. (A dangerous reduction of electrolytes in the blood.)

Filters can take out a lot of stuff, but they leave the dissolved (fully in solution) minerals like sodium, calcium, and potassium salts which help maintain the electrolyte balance.

As to water, the small-ish city i live in has a water quality that's in the top 5% of the state. So, i don't worry much about using anything but tap water.

[modrepub]

16. If anyone has seen Maine waters

they wouldn't drink it straight out of the stream/lake. Not that it's bad it's just highly colored (tea stained) from all the pine needles and peat. Maine is mostly sand, gravel, granite and bogs.

[RobinA]

17. I Drink

bottled water because I prefer the taste to my own tap water and to mystery water from a rare fountain. I also like the fact that you can now buy bottled water when you are out and about and are thirsty instead of having to buy soda. I remember the days when you could only get soda and would have to beg for a cup of water, even offering to pay a dollar. I'll keep the bottled water, thanks. I am not scammed at all.

[WhiteTara]

18. They are also stealing water in California

[HAB911]

19. Boycott all things Nestle

The profits on water are huge, but the raw material is free

Not only in Florida but across the nation

http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/water/the-profits-on-water-are-huge-but-the-raw-material-is-free/418793

[ProfessorGAC]

21. Happened Here In Chicago Area Back In The 80's

A news crew got a hidden camera into the area's larger bottled water maker. They made claims about their water (i don't recall specifically what they were), and it turned out they were just opening a valve connected to the city of Chicago water supply.

It was just softened tap water running through a simple filter so no visible particulate would be present. As i recall they paid damages, but that might not be completely accurate.