Shapleigh voters overwhelmingly adopted a six-month moratorium on testing or large-scale extraction of water in town today, crimping the plans of bottler Poland Spring.

At a special town meeting, residents voted 204 to 38 in favor of the moratorium, which is intended to give the town time to work on an ordinance to regulate water testing and large-scale pumping.

Voters also shot down a proposal for an agreement between the town and Poland Spring that would have given the water bottler access to town land on Mann Road for testing. That proposal was defeated 183-49, averting a confusing situation that could have developed if voters had approved both the moratorium and the agreement with the company.

Mark Dubois, natural resource manager for Poland Spring, said the company understands that residents want to come up with an ordinance on water resources, but added the vote doesn't necessarily mean the company won't continue to pursue Shapleigh's water if that ordinance allows large-scale extraction.

"We think the people in Shapleigh want to go really slow when it comes to the water resources there and we respect that," he said.

Dubois noted that Poland Spring already draws water from eight sites in Maine and the Shapleigh water wasn't expected to be added to the company's line until 2011. The company has enough water to meet demand, he said, which has been slowing as the economy has softened.