SHAPLEIGH -- A Poland Spring geologist urged Shapleigh residents Saturday to look at facts, and not to Fryeburg, to decide whether to allow the water company to pursue a possible new water source in town.

At an informational meeting hosted by Poland Spring at Shapleigh Memorial School, Mark Dubois sought to address residents' concerns about the company's plans to drill test wells on a piece of town-owned land in Shapleigh.

These same concerns, about the effect of Poland Spring's operations on local water supplies and increased truck traffic on rural roads, have recently surfaced in other towns where Poland Spring operates in Maine. They have been especially pronounced in Fryeburg, where residents have staged protests against Poland Spring and the company is engaged in a court battle with the town over plans to build a pumping station.

Last Saturday, opponents of Poland Spring from Fryeburg handed out literature at the Shapleigh Transfer Station urging residents not to do business with Poland Spring. Dubois said he believes there are only about a dozen people in Fryeburg who strongly oppose Poland Spring. He said the tensions there are largely the result of rumors and false accusations against the company.

Dubois said Poland Spring, which belongs to Nestle, one of the largest food conglomerates in the world, has become a scapegoat in town. "We are a big target," he said.

Walter Baily of Parsonsfield challenged Dubois' on these points Saturday. Baily, who helped draft his town's groundwater extraction in response to Poland Spring's expansion in the area, said Shapleigh residents should be wary of being led into a one-sided agreement with the company.

"We are little wimps compared to the power of this corporation," Baily said. "I'm begging you not to make any contract with them until you know everything about this company." Though many of those who attended Saturday's meeting said they are keeping an open mind toward Poland Spring's proposal, the company's plans clearly gained residents' attention. Nearly 60 people from Shapleigh and nearby communities filled the school gymnasium in the midst of a heavy snowstorm.

Poland Spring is seeking the permission through a town-wide vote to test whether a 150-acre parcel of land on Mann Road could be developed into a new water source for the fast-growing company that employs 750 people in Maine. If the sandy aquifer proved viable, Poland Spring proposes to drill wells and build a pipeline out to a filling station on Route 11, although this would require residents' approval through another vote.

About 50 trucks per day would carry water from the station to Hollis, where the company operates a bottling plant. Poland Spring has said it would be willing to negotiate a per-gallon fee that it would pay the town for the water.

Dubois said there are many mechanisms to ensure that Poland Spring's use of the aquifer would not exceed its natural rate of replenishment. He said the state sets a limit on how much water the company can withdraw from each of its wells. He said the company publicly reports its water usage and monitors water levels in the vicinity of its wells.

Dubois showed charts indicating that groundwater levels in the vicinity of the company's wells in Hollis have risen during the eight years Poland Spring has been withdrawing water there.

After Dubois' presentation, Shapleigh resident Fred McLoud said he thought the company should at least be allowed to investigate the potential of the Mann Road site. "You don't know unless you try," he said. "I'm willing to let them see if there's more water there."

Anna Desmond, a member of the town's conservation committee, said she, too, would favor allowing the company to carry out the first phase of its plan. She said she was reserving judgment on whether the company should eventually be allowed to supply its bottling plant with water from Shapleigh.

"We need to keep reading and we need to keep researching," she said. A vote on Poland Spring's proposal is expected this summer or in November.

Staff Writer Seth Harkness can be contacted at 282-8225 or at: sharkness@pressherald.com