Whatitiri Maori Reserve Trustee Millan Ruka said that, on the surface, Zodiac halting the process looked like a breather for the three hapu, who have tried for decades to block the commercial extraction of water.
The three hapu the trust represents have had legal title to the springs and land around them since 1898. The springs are only metres downstream from the aquifer Zodiac has permission to tap.
The trust received backing to its consent objections through online site Actionstation which collected a large number of the more than 1400 submissions received.
Many other submissions offered detailed objections on the grounds of traffic movements, soil and water table degradation, and of effluent and grey water discharge on the sensitive site, Mr Ruka said.
"I've seen a few objections that are very academic and there are those from the Waitangi Treaty and Tribunal point of view, too."
Whether or not there was a bottling factory on site, Zodiac Holdings' company New Zealand Spring Water still had Northland Regional Council consent to extract up to 15000 cubic metres a day from the former WDC bore.
Zodiac activated a 13-year old permit for the first time last month when it trucked water to Auckland in a tanker.
"They know they don't necessarily need a factory on site. They could just put it [the water] straight into a truck and take it away," Mr Ruka said.
Green Party Whangarei candidate Ash Holwell said he agreed with Mr Ruka's call for a full inquiry into the chain of local government decisions and processes regarding the longstanding Poroti Springs issue.
Zodiac's withdrawal comes soon before the general election in which a tipping point could be increasing concerns about fresh water quality, and companies having access to free water they then sell.
The Greens, Labour Party and New Zealand First have said they would charge levies on or halt commercial water extraction, particularly for bottling and export.
The Whatitiri Trust and supporters have invited the public to join in a peaceful "Save Poroti Springs" hikoi in Whangarei today, starting at the Northland Regional Council offices at 9.30am and ending at Laurie Hall carpark.