This survey, in conjunction with hospital records of cases and results from water quality monitoring will help us assess the risk.

The Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) is the lead government agency for monitoring the quality of our marine waters.

A scientific approach is important when dealing with public health issues that may be linked with bathing in marine waters. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), bathing in waters with high bacterial loads may cause illness such as diarrhoea, skin irritations, eye and ear infections and respiratory problems.

Ensuring safe water quality is important to Cook Islanders and visitors alike. The MMR along with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and The Cook Islands Tourism Corporation are collaborating together on this issue and seeking to adopt national standards and response mechanisms.  As a part of this collaboration the MMR wishes to assess the public’s perception of health risks linked to water quality to compare with the government records of water quality and public health.

Is there a risk for public health? What is the risk? What standard for water quality should we adopt? These are some of the questions that we would like you to answer.

Download the Survey:

1. Marine Water Quality & Public Health Survey (MS Word 2010/07 format)

2.  Marine Water Quality & Public Health Survey (MS Word 2003 compatible format)

This survey is for Rarotonga ONLY and will end on the 20th December, 2011.