4 Nov 2013

Residents on Mauke in Cooks urged to stop wasting water

2:54 pm on 4 November 2013

Residents on Mauke in the Cook Islands are being urged to stop wasting water.

The island's water system was upgraded just over two years ago with funding from New Zealand, to ensure a regular supply of clean water to residents on the island.

A Senior Development Programme Coordinator for the New Zealand High Commission on Rarotonga says prior to the installation of the new system, the population of under 300 people was consuming 160,000 litres of water a day.

Steve Barrett says since then, the figure has dropped to 90,000 litres a day, which he says is still too high.

"If there's no physical cost to an individual, there's no real demand for change, there would only be a personal commitment to conserving water. And so if you have free and unfettered access to any resource, you have a tendency I think to perhaps waste it."

Steve Barrett says there have been discussions on the possibility of introducing a levy on water and says residents on Mauke understand if this is to happen.