An activist group in the Cook Islands is appealing for public help for its legal challenge over plans to use chemicals to treat the Rarotonga water supply.
Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
The Cook Islands Government said it was very close to commissioning the multi million dollar reticulation system.
The government said it was determined to ensure a potable water supply was available to everyone on the island and it favoured polyaluminium chloride to remove dirt and particles from the water.
But Te Vai Ora Maori was opposed to such use of chemicals.
The Cook Islands News reported the group alleged last month, in a complaint to the National Environment Service, that the government was dosing the water supply with a chemical coagulant without a proper permit.
The group said its complaint is not about the science of water treatment, but about the "regulatory process".
Earlier this month To Tatou Vai, the authority being set up to run the scheme, wrote to landowners saying it was about to start a six month trial using the coagulant.