Water petition campaign gains momentum, organizing committee meets with Ariki House

A petition against a planned water charge on Rarotonga is gaining momentum, with more than 1500 signatures now in the air, including support from Cook Islanders on Paenua and living overseas.

The Keep Our Water Free petition was launched last month after water agency To Tatou Vai announced its intention to introduce water charges to cover its annual operating budget.

The petition organizing committee began collecting petitions on Monday this week.

At last count a week ago, they had collected about 1,500 signatures, including 112 from Mangaia. A postal petition is also being circulated by the Cook Islands community in New Zealand, with a deadline last week.

According to the petition organizing committee, once they complete the initial signature count, they will meet with the Parliamentary Secretary, Tangata Vainerere, “who, in accordance with parliamentary standing orders, will need to review and approve the petition before it is presented to Parliament in September.”

“The response from the public has been overwhelming. Our businesses and communities have stepped up to the plate, volunteering to display petition boards and collect signatures in person,” the organizing committee said.

“Keeping Rarotonga’s water free is something we can all help our councillors achieve.”

Tatuwai plans to implement water charges from January 1, 2025. In its 2024-2028 corporate statement of intent, Tatuwai said it would need a minimum operating budget of $4.262 million for 2024/25, increasing by 2% each year for the next four years due to inflation. The water authority submitted a budget request of $3.9 million to the government for 2024/25, but only received $2.5 million.

TTV expects to complete metering of all non-residential users, including growers, by the end of this year and then impose tariffs on their water use. Non-residential users will pay a monthly usage fee of $17 and a charge per cubic meter (1,000 liters) of water used.

Domestic users in Rarotonga will not be charged for water until meters are installed in July 2026. Residential (domestic) users will only be charged for each cubic metre consumed over a ‘reasonable’ free allotment of water.

The government is exploring a water allocation policy that would provide up to several hundred litres of free water per person per day, for example, for a family of three. In the Cook Islands, the average person uses about 200 litres of water per day.

Last month, Deputy Prime Minister Albert Nicholas said the government was considering providing up to 400 litres (two buckets) of free water per person.

When asked about the government’s offer of free water to residential users, the petition organising committee said: “The promise of free distribution is a good start, but our people want certainty.”

“Our identity as Cook Islands people is tied to the land, our ability to grow our own food and support each other. Our people also understand that water companies need to be paid to operate. The law needs to be changed to change the funding model of Tatuwai Water from a user-pays model to a public grant model.”

Meanwhile, the committee met with Ariki House on Monday to express concerns over the proposed water prices.

Also present at the presentation along with the 10 members of the petition committee were Kaumaiti Iti Tinomana Ariki, Kaumaiti Nui Tou Ariki, Itiao Mataiapo, Arorangi Orometua Mata Tumu Makara and Arorangi Tauturu Orometua John Andrews.

The petition’s organizing committee said in a statement that three speakers outlined how user fees would affect people.

Joyana Finch, a mechatronics engineer, returned to the island with her family last year and found a job with a state-owned company that runs the public water supply.

Landowners who provided stream access and allowed pipelines to be laid on their land to deliver water to the village will now be charged as customers, the statement said.
“My gut tells me that giving control of water resources to a corporation is dangerous,” Finch said. “TTV says the water fee is to reduce waste, but it’s making people afraid to use water.”

“The tariffs will destroy our people and their connection to the land. It will discourage our planters from planting. There are better solutions, cheaper solutions that can encourage communities to work together.”

Ngamau Tou has been collecting signatures in Puaikura.
“In Ruao, some households on remote roads within the 30-metre service area have no water. Many households will not be able to get free water. Some households will need to pay for water tankers to bring water to their homes,” Tew said.

She gave the history of the water system and said previous attempts to impose water charges had been overturned, most recently in 1972 by the Cook Islands Party, led by Albert Henry.
Grower Andy Kirkwood presented a summary of the Water Authority’s financial statements.

The main costs are for top management, Kirkwood said, adding that nearly half of the $4.5 million annual budget goes toward salaries.

“Less than $1 million was spent on water extraction and treatment,” the statement said. “Tariff reports show that income from growers, farmers and floriculture on the island was $1.5 million. Census data shows that most households on Rarotonga are involved in agriculture, but only 1% of agricultural activity is for sale or commercial purposes.”

Kirkwood used data from the report and Vaka Consulting to model future monthly water bills. In addition to the monthly availability charge, agricultural customers will pay 85 cents per cubic meter (1,000 liters) of water. This rate is the same as for residential connections.
“You can’t compare the amount of water you use to wash dishes to the amount of water you need to irrigate crops,” Kirkwood said.

He also noted that climate data from the Cook Islands Meteorological Service showed a net water loss of 50 millimetres last month.
“Under these drought conditions, an area the size of Nukupreu Park requires 200 cubic metres of water to maintain soil moisture. With meter charges and VAT, the monthly cost is $200, or $2,400 per year.”

Organisers of the petition pointed out that water charges are added to the prices of all goods and services, leaving businesses with no choice but to pass on the costs to customers, which will increase the cost of living.
Te Kaumaiti Nui, Tou Travel Ariki, who led a House of Ariki delegation to New Zealand this week to meet with Cook Islands communities, is eager to hear people’s views on water prices.

Tou Travel Ariki told Cook Islands News the Ariki family had been involved in the construction of the Te Mato Vai water project from its inception to completion, including the handover of water intakes to landowners.

He said the promise of better supply and clean water was why they supported the project.

“Now there are rumors that we have to pay… but water is free from God,” said Tou Travel Ariki.

“Our staff have raised a number of concerns and our job is to listen to their concerns, whether they are good or bad. We will then conduct our own consultation and then finalise our view on the issue.

“We also said to them (the petition organizing committee) that we don’t want to just hear complaints but we want to tell us their solutions and they highlighted some good solutions.”

Members of the petition committee proposed a departure tax and alcohol levy as ways for visitors to the island to help pay for infrastructure.

“Renegotiating the terms of offshore fishing licenses could generate needed revenue; raising the price per kilogram would also protect fish stocks,” they suggested.