Cyprus’ reservoirs only one third full

Cyprus’ reservoirs are only a third full, data released on Saturday shows.

The figure was revealed after the latest reading of the dams on Wednesday, which showed that there are 95.9 million cubic metres of water in Cyprus’ dams at present.

This is a little over half of the figure recorded at the same time last year, when there was just shy of 163.2 million cubic metres of water, meaning the reservoirs were 56 per cent full at the time.

Broken down by area, those linked to the southern conveyor are now just 30.6 per cent full, compared to 52.5 per cent a year ago, while the reservoirs in the Paphos area are 38.9 per cent full, compared to 64.7 per cent last year, and the reservoirs near Polis Chrysochous are 35.6 per cent full, compared to 57.9 per cent last year.

The starkest difference, however, has been seen in Nicosia district’s reservoirs, which, after being 63.9 per cent full a year ago, are now just 20.2 per cent full. That corresponds to just 700,000 cubic metres of water.

The water development department’s senior executive engineer Elena Foinikaridou said that with these figures in mind, Cyprus’ five seawater desalination units are continuing to operate at full capacity, thus reducing the need for reservoir water to be purified and used.

She added that the government drew up its current “water allocation scenario” in April, and that the scenario foresees various eventualities and will allocate water to those who need it accordingly from Cyprus’ various sources, in line with availability.

“Strict adherence to the scenario is the basic tool for the rational management of the available quantities of water,” she said.

In terms of consumer usage, she said there has been a “slight increase” in water consumption compared to last year.

She said this could be down to a number of factors, including Cyprus’ growing population, a reduction in the number of holidays being taken abroad by people living on the island, and increased temperatures.

With this in mind, she said that a total of 23.3 million cubic metres of water had been used for irrigation in the first seven months of the year – a 3.5 per cent increase compared to 2022 – but that the relative amount of water being used for irrigation is expected to fall in time due to water cuts which have been imposed since May.

This, she said, will have the knock-on effect of reduced harvests in autumn. She also said that the water supply to year-round crops and greenhouses has been “greatly reduced”.