Why do we use the phrase "Real Maine Spring Water?" Isn't all Maine spring water real? Well, it depends on what your definition of "real" is.

We go by the geological definition of spring water, which refers to water that presents itself at the Earth's surface naturally, due to the natural high pressure caused by the overflowing aquifer.

In the 1990s a group of very large and well-funded mega-corporations lobbied the federal government to revise the definition of spring water, for the purposes of labeling, to include water that is pumped out of the ground by force, sometimes through enormous boreholes. Some water that comes from Maine and is labeled "spring water" comes from these
heavily mechanized industrial operations.

That's why we also say, "You should know where your water comes from." Most people just don't think much about it.

Since pumping water through boreholes bypasses the natural filtration process of water percolating through layers and layers of sand and fine gravel, most of these engineered "spring waters" have to be mechanically filtered and chemically treated to remove all of the silt, debris and other contaminants that get sucked up in the process.

Many geologists believe that forcibly sucking water out of underground aquifers can also draw contaminants from the surrounding soil into the aquifer, causing irreversible damage to the water source.

Summit Spring Water is collected from the natural overflow of the spring.
If we didn't collect and bottle it, it would just run down the side of Summit Hill. In fact, much of the water that rises from the spring does run down the hill because we just can't keep up with the flow.