Vermont Business Magazine Below is a letter which Spring Hill Water, based in Haverhill, MA, sent to its customers today after making the decision to close the business earlier this week. Also below are the test results which show that Spring Hill Water is clear; PFAS was not detected. Despite these test results, which were expected, "this whole ordeal has been too much for a small, fourth generation family business and the owners are steadfast in their decision to close it.” Spring Hill bottled water had been distributed across New England, including Vermont.
LETTER
Dear Spring Hill Customers –
Spring Hill Dairy Farm has been owned and operated by my family for 117 years. As a fourth-generation owner, it has become my sad task to announce that we will be closing the company.
You, our customers, have been wonderful and supportive and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Each one of you have been understanding and patient as we wait for the post installation filtration test results. However, the deluge of unwarranted attention on our company, when PFAS is clearly a national problem with thousands of contributors, has made it impossible for us to keep operating. Sensational, fear-inducing headlines relative to an advisory that impacts an estimated 6-7% of the population of Massachusetts (pregnant and lactating women and bottle-fed infants) have created an untenable environment. There have been many challenges over the years to doing business in Massachusetts. This past month has convinced us that, for our company, the negatives have come to outweigh the positives.
Since first learning about the PFSA issue, we took the warning seriously, responded immediately, installed a more than $100,000 charcoal filtration system to remove all PFAS. I am fully confident that the tests we took the day the system was installed on July 22nd will return very soon with negligible or no levels of PFAS. However the continued adverse media focusing on you our customers, as well fluctuations in regulations and levels among different states and the federal government and more to come in the future, is of concern to our very small business which those of you who are small business owners will certainly understand. For these reasons, we didn’t want to cause you any more uncertainty or undue attention and shall close our business.
It was with great sadness and a heavy heart when I informed our 30-plus employees that their jobs at Spring Hill will end in the near future. Without their contributions, loyalty and support, the Company could not have grown as it has during my tenure. Their service will be rewarded.
It has been a pleasure working with you, I thank you for your business and your support and wish you great success in the future.
Sincerely, Harold B. Rogers
Source: Spring Hill. Haverhill, MA, 8.2.2019