By Jessica Miller · Brand Reviews Lead · Reviewed by Emily Carter, Hydration & Nutrition Editor · Updated
In Deer Park vs Poland Spring, Poland Spring edges it: one tight mineral profile from ten Maine springs, and a lower PFAS result than Deer Park in Consumer Reports’ 2020 test. The two are sister brands from the same owner and cost the same, about $0.48 a litre at Target, so the gap is smaller than the rivalry suggests. Here is how they compare on source, minerals, PFAS, price and the open lawsuit.
How do Deer Park and Poland Spring compare side by side?
On paper they are close, and the clearest difference is consistency. Poland Spring’s 2025 water quality report lists ranges from ten Maine springs; Deer Park’s 2025 report covers about fifteen springs in seven states, so its ranges are several times wider.
| Poland Spring | Deer Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Primo Brands | Primo Brands |
| Springs (2025 report) | 10, all in Maine | About 15 in PA, FL, MD, ME, SC, TN, NC |
| Total dissolved solids | 27 to 84 mg/L | ND to 240 mg/L |
| Calcium | 4.2 to 11 mg/L | ND to 68 mg/L |
| Sodium | 1.5 to 9.7 mg/L | 0.86 to 8.8 mg/L |
| pH | 6.2 to 7.5 | 4.8 to 8.3 |
| Fluoride (natural) | ND to 0.21 mg/L | ND to 0.16 mg/L |
| PFAS, Consumer Reports 2020 | Under 1 ppt | 1.21 ppt |
| PFAS, own 2025 report | Not detected | Not detected |
| Price, Target 32 x 16.9 oz | $7.69 (about $0.48/L) | $7.69 (about $0.48/L) |
| FDA recalls found | None | None |
ND means not detected. Ranges are the lowest and highest values across each brand’s sources. Prices: Target, one New Jersey store, checked 5 October 2026. Neither report includes a bicarbonate figure.
Are Deer Park and Poland Spring the same company?
Yes. Both belong to Primo Brands, which its 2025 annual report says was formed when “Triton US HoldCo, Inc. completed a series of merger transactions involving BlueTriton and Primo Water” on November 8, 2024. The same filing names Poland Spring a billion-dollar brand and Deer Park one of its regional spring waters, alongside Arrowhead, Ice Mountain, Ozarka and Zephyrhills.
Same owner does not mean same water. Each brand bottles from its own springs, and the 2025 reports show different mineral profiles. Before 2021 the whole group belonged to Nestlé Waters North America.
Where does each brand’s water come from?
Poland Spring comes only from Maine. Its 2025 report names ten springs, among them the original Poland Spring in Poland, Clear Spring in Hollis and Evergreen Spring in Fryeburg.
Deer Park draws much wider. The 2025 report names Frontier Spring sites in seven Pennsylvania towns, Oakland in Maryland, three Florida springs, Glenwood Spring in Maine, Swift Springs in South Carolina, Sweetwater Falls in Tennessee and Roaring Gap in North Carolina. The bottle in your hand comes from whichever plant supplies your region, which is why one Deer Park can taste different from another.
Which has more minerals, Deer Park or Poland Spring?
Deer Park can, but it depends on the spring. Its total dissolved solids run from not detected up to 240 mg/L and its calcium up to 68 mg/L. Poland Spring stays between 27 and 84 mg/L of dissolved solids with calcium no higher than 11 mg/L, so it is a soft, light-tasting water from every source.
Both are low in sodium, under 10 mg/L at the top of each range. Neither is a mineral water in the legal sense: under 21 CFR 165.110 that label needs at least 250 mg/L of total dissolved solids, and neither brand’s highest source reaches it.
Which one has less PFAS?
Poland Spring, on the only independent test that names both. In Consumer Reports’ 2020 test of 35 still waters, Deer Park measured 1.21 ppt of total PFAS and was one of just two over 1 ppt. Poland Spring Natural Spring Water was in the group below 1 ppt. The widely quoted 1.66 ppt Poland Spring figure was for Zesty Lime Sparkling, not the still water.
Both brands’ 2025 reports list the PFAS compounds they test, PFOA and PFOS included, as not detected. The two results are not in conflict so much as measuring different things in different years: CR added up 30 compounds in one 2020 sample, while a company report checks each compound against a limit. Our Deer Park PFAS page and Poland Spring PFAS page go through each brand in more detail.
Which is cheaper, Deer Park or Poland Spring?
Neither. At Target both 32-packs of 16.9 oz bottles cost $7.69 on 5 October 2026, about $0.48 a litre, and both 3-litre jugs were $1.99. The brands are priced as regional twins, so the cheaper one is usually whichever your store has on promotion.
Amazon is much dearer for both: $16.95 for a 24-pack of Poland Spring and $9.99 for a 12-pack of Deer Park when we checked, roughly three times the Target price per litre. If price is the main concern, a tested store brand is cheaper still; our purified water ranking compares them.
Poland Spring 100% Natural Spring Water, 24 x 16.9 oz
Ten Maine springs, TDS 27 to 84 mg/L, under 1 ppt PFAS in Consumer Reports’ 2020 test. $16.95 on Amazon when checked on 5 October 2026; supermarket prices are usually lower.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Deer Park Natural Spring Water, 12 x 16.9 oz
Springs along the Eastern Seaboard, sodium under 10 mg/L, 1.21 ppt PFAS in Consumer Reports’ 2020 test. $9.99 on Amazon when checked on 5 October 2026.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Is Poland Spring really spring water?
The company says yes, and a court has not decided otherwise. The Patane v. Nestlé Waters class action, filed in 2017, argues that Poland Spring does not meet the federal definition of spring water. In December 2024 the judge refused to throw out the core of the case and called it an open question. The docket shows it still active in September 2026, with no ruling on the merits.
Deer Park faces no equivalent claim that we found. Neither brand has an FDA recall on record: a search of the FDA food enforcement database returned no matches for either name. Our bottled water recall tracker lists the recalls that do exist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Deer Park or Poland Spring better?
Poland Spring, narrowly. Its 2025 report shows a tight mineral range from ten Maine springs, and Consumer Reports put its still water under 1 ppt of PFAS in 2020, while Deer Park measured 1.21 ppt. Both cost the same at Target, so taste and where you live usually decide it.
Are Deer Park and Poland Spring the same company?
Yes. Both are owned by Primo Brands, formed when BlueTriton and Primo Water merged on November 8, 2024. Before 2021 both belonged to Nestlé. They are separate brands drawn from different springs, not the same water in different labels.
Where does Deer Park water come from?
From about fifteen springs in seven states, according to its 2025 water quality report: seven in Pennsylvania, three in Florida, and one each in Maryland, Maine, South Carolina, Tennessee and North Carolina. Which spring fills your bottle depends on the plant that supplies your area.
Does Deer Park water have PFAS?
Consumer Reports measured 1.21 ppt of total PFAS in Deer Park Natural Spring Water in 2020, one of only two still waters over 1 ppt. That is below the EPA’s 4 ppt limits for PFOA and PFOS. Deer Park’s own 2025 report lists PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS and PFBS as not detected.
Has Deer Park water been recalled in 2026?
We found no FDA recall for Deer Park or Poland Spring. A search of the FDA’s food enforcement database, which covers recalls back to 2012, returned no records under either brand name or under BlueTriton or Primo Brands.
Does Deer Park or Poland Spring have fluoride?
Neither adds fluoride. Their 2025 reports show only natural traces: up to 0.21 mg/L for Poland Spring and up to 0.16 mg/L for Deer Park, well below the 0.7 mg/L the CDC recommends for community water fluoridation.
Is Poland Spring really spring water?
Primo Brands says it is 100% spring water. A federal class action filed in 2017 argues it is not, and in December 2024 a judge refused to dismiss the core of that case, calling it an open question. As of September 2026 the case was still open with no ruling on the merits.
The bottom line
Poland Spring is the better pick on the evidence: one Maine source, a narrow and predictable mineral range, and a still-water PFAS result under 1 ppt where Deer Park measured 1.21. Deer Park is still a safe, legal spring water at the same price, so if it is the one your store carries, there is no reason to drive elsewhere. The open lawsuit over whether Poland Spring counts as spring water is worth watching, but it is a labelling dispute, not a safety finding.
Sources: Poland Spring 2025 water quality report; Deer Park 2025 water quality report; Consumer Reports bottled water testing (September 2020); Primo Brands 2025 Form 10-K; 21 CFR 165.110; CDC fluoridation recommendation; Patane v. Nestlé Waters docket; FDA food enforcement data. Prices from Target and Amazon listings on 5 October 2026.
Affiliate disclosure: as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases; commissions never affect our assessments.
