Rarotonga water authority, To Tatou Vai (TTV), has the right to charge water tariffs for supply and services, says Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC) chair Fletcher Melvin.

TTV recently announced the final water tariff structure for household and commercial users, for the period October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025.

However, the "Keep Our Water Free" petition organisers are calling on CIIC, the government agency managing Crown enterprises including TTV, to revoke the new water tariff that comes into effect today, calling it “unlawful” and must be “revoked”.
Lead petitioner Justine Matatoa Flanagan says the commencement of the water tariff is deemed unlawful and they will fight it through an official objection submitted to CIIC.

The water petition committee in a statement said the schedule published by To Tatou Vai in September advises: “invoices are generated on the (electricity company) Te Aponga [customer] data base”.

The Petition Committee is filing an objection with CIIC chair Melvin, claiming the water tariff set by the TTV Board is “unlawful”.

In a letter to Melvin, the committee raised that TTV was charging for a service they couldn't verify to have rendered.
“Residents were told that volume charges for households would start 2026, now the charges start 1 October. Only a fraction of homes have been metered,” said Flanagan.
“TTV has no way to verify if water has been supplied to eligible connections. In August, properties in Rua'au were without water for a number of consecutive weeks. There are houses that are unoccupied, or are entirely supplied by rainwater. Also residents that receive power but are outside of TTV’s 30m Service Zone.

“The water authority cannot proceed to invoice the Crown based on the number of customers in TAU's database. By law, TTV cannot charge for ‘possible’ supply; nor ‘likely’ supply; but only for the actual supply of water. 

“On behalf of the 3407 'Keep Our Water Free' petitioners, we are calling upon CIIC to intervene and revoke the tariff."

In a statement to Cook Islands News, CIIC chair Melvin says they are confident that To Tatou Vai, a subsidiary of the Corporation, has the legal authority to charge a water tariff for supply and services.

“The CIIC board is satisfied that the tariffs are lawful,” Melvin stated. “It is now up to the board of To Tatou Vai (TTV) to work through the process of establishing a fair and transparent tariff system.”

“To Tatou Vai is currently working through the process to determine eligibility for government subsidies. They are in the process of identifying who qualifies for the government subsidy.”
Melvin said anyone who wants to know their eligibility status is encouraged to reach out to TTV directly.