Since moving here in 1983 my family and I have been drinking Maine water from the tap. I never drank my own well water before, and my co-workers would chuckle if I praised the Sebago Lake water issuing from the water fountain. It's a far cry from the Ohio River water on which I was raised.

While any water source can be treated to make it safe for drinking, this generation is growing up with the notion that the only safe drinking water comes from a bottle.

The difference between the bottled water and the groundwater, which becomes the water in the bottle, is the energy wasted on manufacturing, transporting, distributing and collecting the bottles. Much simpler to turn on the tap and add ice cubes.

Nestle Corp.'s Poland Spring division has targeted Maine's groundwater with the same scope 19th century timber barons viewed the north woods. With several water sources already operating around the state, Nestle is constantly looking for more communities to invite them to the water table.

My bottom line is Nestle's historic lack of corporate responsibility. Its not so recent policy of providing third-world mothers with baby formula for newborns then making it difficult to obtain more formula while the mothers' breast milk dried up is inexcusable. This is not the template for groundwater extraction in a state whose beauty is its selling point.

Doug Yohman

East Waterboro