People in the Cook Islands are being urged to conserve water as intakes across Rarotonga operate well below capacity and the island faces three months with little or no rainfall.
Rarotonga, the largest of the Cook Islands Photo: AFP
Infrastructure Cook Islands says the system around Rarotonga is working at 20 to 50 percent of its normal capacity.
It says the stream flow at water intakes across the island has dropped, reducing the pressure in the pipeline network and the flow of water to homes and businesses.
The stream at the Avatiu intake usually supplies up to 40 to 60 litres of water a second, but because of limited rainfall it now supplies just 6 litres of water a second.
The water authorities are urging residents to be conservative with the way they use water and to educate young family members children not to play with water during the shortage.
