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Strengthening Freshwater Protection in the Cook Islands

By Deyna Marsh, Assistant National Coordinator for the Cook Islands International Waters Project

Boys playing under the "siga" or spring at the IWP pilot community of Lepa in Samoa. The true test of the International Waters Project will be if lessons from the pilot projects in Samoa and the Cook Islands can be used to help other Pacific Island communities strengthen the way they manage their catchment areas and freshwater resources after the project ends in December 2006.

The Cook Islands International Waters Project (IWP) is to trying find practical ways to make sure that fresh water resources are kept safe and clean for everyone in Rarotonga.

In many areas in Rarotonga water is collected in a water catchment in the hills before it is filtered through gravel, fed to a holding tank, and distributed to consumers. There is currently no chemical water treatment and activities within the sensitive water catchment areas are contributing to unacceptable levels of contamination of the water supply.

Water tests are now consistently returning positive for faecal coliform from the faeces of warm-blooded animals. This is a threat to public health and locals and tourists alike are now advised to boil their drinking water.

The IWP is managed by the Cook Islands National Environment Service and the Pacific Regional Environment Programme. The project is managed in close collaboration with the pilot community of Takuvaine, which covers the main Rarotonga township of Avarua.

The main objective of the Cook Islands IWP is to find cost-effective ways to ensure access to clean and safe drinking water in Takuvaine and eventually throughout the rest of Rarotonga. The project has been working with the Takuvaine Community to try and understand the underlying root causes of the problem as a way of helping to identify the most appropriate, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions for Rarotonga.

Mama Terii Simpson is a member of the IWP Local Project Committee (LPC) and a project “champion” who is interested in helping to improve access to safe drinking water for all. She passionately believes that everyone needs to think about what they can do if we want keep our environment safe and healthy for our families.

As Mama Terii says: “A clean and safe environment has to start with me.”

After many meetings and community consultations the main root cause of the problem was identified as the unrestricted access of both humans and their animals to the water catchment area. Activities carried out above the water intake include agricultural activities, such as the cultivation of swamp taro and the collection of the king bananas and traditional medicinal plants. The area is also home to the popular Te Kou Trek, which is used by tourists and locals everyday. However it now appears that the increasing presence of humans and animals is contributing to the high levels of faecal coliform which is contaminating the town’s water supply.

“Many of our people don’t think it’s a big problem for us because we boast tough stomachs,” says Tauraki Raea, the National Coordinator for the IWP.

“But those at risk include the elderly, the children, the sick and our visitors to the island (tourists and locals) who expect a good, safe water supply. Contaminated water can lead to bugs that can cause diarrhoea or even just general feeling of tiredness and lethargy, ” he says.

“When it rains heavy the water in the tap is murky and so we boil it because not everyone can afford bottled water!” says Tianoa Joseph, 59, another project “champion” living in the IWP pilot community.

Tianoa admits to drinking the water straight from the tap. “Our stomachs have become use to it but, since becoming involved in the project, I now boil the water for my grandchildren to drink,” he says.

He says he has helped pass this message on to the school his grandchildren attend as well as to his peers, other parents and grandparents. Tianoa says that, even with a filter attached to your tap, bacteria can still be present in the water.

“Since being involved in this project I understand now that even though our water may look and taste clean, it can still be unhealthy with the bacteria that have not been filtered out. Boiling the water is the only way to kill those bacteria,” he says.

Tianoa collects the tap and/or rainwater in a pot and boils it, lets it sit so the leftover dirt can sink to the bottom and then, using a clear hose, he sucks it out and into bottles. This is a practice used by several people in the community. “It’s a cheaper way of having safer drinking water for me and my family, ” he says.

Tauraki Raea says the initial community workshops and meetings made it clear that many people were simply unaware of the fragility of their water catchment areas.

“People are unaware of the activities that are contributing to the contamination of the water supply and what can be done to minimise the risks of this contamination from occurring,” he says.

Director of the Environment Service, Vaitoti Tupa, says the numbers of people that swim and bathe above or in the water intake has started to decrease.

“Cows have been moved away or relocated below the water intake and dumping of rubbish has dropped. At the same time traditional leaders, especially the Koutu Nui, have been concerned about this issue, and they are fully supportive of the intentions of the project," he says.

Mama Terii says the community has discussed a range of management options including the possibility of introducing a modern water treatment system.

“Everyone wants a treatment system but this will cost millions to purchase and install and maintain. Even if we did have treatment system people would simply keep avoiding the need to address the root causes of pollution that are contaminating our wider environment such as the lagoon,” she says.

The IWP Local Project Committee has identified that a Water Catchment Management Plan may well be the cost-effective and sustainable solution. This management plan is now being put together by a local consultant incorporating ideas from the community, landowners, and other interested stakeholders. Because the plan will be implemented and enforced by the community it will require greater community cooperation.

Mama Terii says greater cooperation and commitment will needed for the management plan to be successful.

“The management plan is good because it’s something that everyone can appreciate and follow, like our traditional Raui. The land is owned by several landowners so you can’t ban them from their own land!”

“If the IWP is about changing attitudes and finding “low-cost no-cost” solutions then the management plan is the way to go. Purchasing water filters, treatment systems, all cost money!” she says.

Mama Terii says that trying to change people’s attitude and behaviour is difficult because people have been carrying out the same activities for years.

“It is like building a house. We need to plan carefully and collect the materials and have a proper foundation before we build a house that will be strong and sustainable. We need to have meetings and get everyone’s input and cooperation otherwise we will only build a house that won’t last,” she says.

”We need to spread the message that protecting our water is everybody’s responsibility – in the church, in the plantation, in the community! We need to keep raising awareness about our fragile water catchment to our neighbours outside the community and to our friends who visit our islands, ” she says.

“We have to start doing our part first then government will do their part!” she says.

Mama Terii says the community has already agreed on the construction of a single public toilet above the intake as one immediate solution.

“If peoples’ ‘business’ is a problem then we simply need to provide people with a toilet. That’s one solution we’ve identified that everyone is happy with!”