The battle over the desalination water fix

Cyprus is entering 2026 amid a severe water shortage, with dam levels hovering around 12 per cent of capacity and winter rainfall providing only limited relief.

Officials have already warned that summer cutbacks are likely, similar to the emergency measures imposed in 2025. In response, the government has accelerated its reliance on desalination, treating it as an immediate operational requirement rather than a longer-term policy objective.

Desalination, first introduced in Cyprus in 1997, now supplies around 70 per cent of the island’s drinking water and is increasingly central to maintaining basic supply. The state has committed €196 million for 2026 water measures alone, including €140 million in the budget specifically earmarked for purchasing desalinated water.

Within this framework, authorities plan to operate a total of 12 desalination units by summer, nine of which are already in service, with three more tendered. Even with this expansion, officials acknowledge that output may still fall short of demand, prompting appeals for households to reduce consumption and necessitating substantial cuts to irrigation water for farmers.

The rapid rollout of emergency infrastructure has exposed tensions between urgency and environmental safeguards. This friction is particularly visible in Mazotos, a coastal village east of Larnaca, where plans for a mobile desalination unit have sparked controversy.

Whereas authorities frame the unit as temporary infrastructure intended to bolster water supplies, residents argue that the site is ecologically sensitive and that the process has been rushed, with little transparency or consultation.

Mazotos’ coastline is home to EU-protected habitats, including Posidonia oceanica meadows and reefs. A community-commissioned study warned that nearby intakes and brine outfalls could cause irreversible harm.

The community council said that the ministry has not shared a comprehensive environmental impact assessment, and that national and EU procedures have been compressed or bypassed entirely.

Residents gathered in protest on January 24, with banners reading: “We demand environmental protection” and “Without studies, without consultation, no to the dictatorship and amateurism of the government, are we third-class citizens?” The community is calling for an immediate suspension of the project, demanding an independent assessment, evaluation of alternatives, and verified compliance with all regulations.

Responding to procedural concerns in comments to the Sunday Mail, water development department director Eliana Tofa Christidou said that the department is “bound to uphold the obligations and commitments set out in the state’s legislation”, whether the discussion concerns desalination policy in general or the project in Mazotos specifically.

“This means that every procedure we follow undergoes all the necessary approvals before implementation,” she said, adding that these take place in consultation with the environment and fisheries departments.

Each project, she added, is assessed on its own terms, taking into account factors such as brine disposal and the potential impact of construction on soil sealing.

“What we want to convey is that there should be no disruption in the area, provided that all procedures are followed, as required by law, regulations, and ministerial decisions,” she assured.

In the case of mobile desalination units however, Tofa said that “given their small size, up to 1,500 cubic metres, there were some fast-track procedures and necessary exemptions for submitting certain forms.”

Still, she stressed, everything remains under relevant departmental oversight.

Concerning potential environmental impacts, agriculture ministry spokesperson Elena Fysentzou said that assessment studies are carried out before desalination facilities are installed, and so far, have not shown any proven negative effects.

From the agriculture ministry’s perspective, desalination is a necessary response to growing water-demand pressures, not a discretionary policy choice, as viable alternatives are largely limited to rainfall or seawater extraction.

Fysentzou pointed out that while Cyprus is among the leading countries in water recycling and a significant percentage is used for irrigation, it is not recommended for drinking-water supply.

“In any case, there is no other alternative method,” she said. “You definitely weigh the pros and cons, but when the balance is between having no water at all and finding a solution, you clearly have to find a solution.”

Ecologists Movement MP Charalambos Theopemptou agreed that desalination is a necessary strategy to address water shortages but criticised the government for failing to give sufficient attention to measures beyond desalination.

“It’s unacceptable for a country that does not have water to have lawns everywhere, or golf courses that require huge amounts of water, care and expense,” Theopemptou said.

He argued that the same lack of planning is evident in the built environment, adding that it is unacceptable for a country with a water problem not to require buildings, at least new ones, to manage rainwater, as is done in Central Europe, England, Ireland, and elsewhere.

“We do not have these kinds of policies that reuse rainwater, so that you don’t have to rely on potable water supply and can therefore reduce overall water demand,” he said.

Whether we’re talking about energy, waste, or water, you have to address the number one issue, which is reducing demand,” he added.

There are many things that can be done to this end. Theopemptou pointed to measures such as Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, which mimic natural drainage to reduce urban flooding, improve water quality, and recharge groundwater by slowing runoff and promoting infiltration.

Theopemptou also highlighted losses in the water supply network, saying: “You can’t have a water problem, carry out desalination, and then put the water into pipes that lose half of it because they’re leaking.”

Officials estimate that around 40 per cent of water is lost each year due to leaks and ageing infrastructure. While about 15 per cent of these losses are considered unavoidable, the stated aim is to reduce overall losses to 20 per cent, with €8 million approved in June for local authorities and regional water bodies to upgrade water supply systems.

As far as desalination is concerned, the issue lies not with the method itself, but with how it is managed.

He explained that the desalination process involves drawing seawater into a plant, removing salt and other substances, and returning the remaining, more concentrated brine to the sea, which increases salinity levels in the discharge area.

“We know very well that if you want to preserve things, you put them in honey, salt, or vinegar. Why? Because nothing lives,” he said.

He warned that the continuous return of highly saline water to the same marine area can destroy local ecosystems.

He cited the case of Dhekelia, where brine discharge from a desalination plant caused detectable environmental damage to Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows, the same type found in Mazotos.

Countermeasures exist, such as using long, perforated pipelines to disperse brine over wider areas, preventing concentrated salinity from harming marine life.

“The sea will be killed if you don’t have proper management of the water that is discharged back into it,” he warned.

Theopemptou did not dismiss protesters’ concerns about the ministry’s environmental assessments, acknowledging persistent issues with their quality and rigor.

He said that problems with environmental studies have arisen repeatedly, prompting legislative changes to ensure those conducting them receive proper training and face penalties for including false information.

Even so, he added, such shortcomings continue, with government-led projects sometimes perceived as subject to less stringent scrutiny than they warrant.

Coastal engineer and Akti board chair Xenia Loizidou agreed with Theopemptou in that desalination is a viable solution.

“Many people frame this discussion as ‘do we need desalination?’ Of course we do. But it must be done properly and with careful study,” she emphasised.

She stressed the importance of powering desalination plants with renewable energy to minimise their carbon footprint.

Currently powered by conventional electricity, Cyprus’ desalination plants produce over 550,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually and are projected to consume around 700 GWh by 2030, roughly 12 per cent of total electricity demand.

Loizidou pointed out that four million cubic metres of treated wastewater from the Tersefanou plant are discharged into the sea each year instead of being routed to irrigation networks. 

Criticising plans for costly new desalination infrastructure, she echoed Theopemptou’s opinion: “Desalination is technically fine. The problem is the absence of a coordinated, comprehensive policy.”

The coastal engineer also criticised what she described as the government’s alarmist approach.

“We are constantly in the mindset of ‘Now! We must! We’ll run out of water!’ Of course, we will face water scarcity. But the problem is not one-dimensional, and we cannot look at it in such a fragmented way,” she explained.

In the case of Mazotos, she said the real issue was that the government proceeded without consulting residents, without sharing the relevant studies, and merely informed them that the project would go ahead.

“When the residents asked what was happening and how things would happen, the ministry wagged its finger at them, and continued to do so,” said Loizidou. Officials, she added, promised the minister would personally provide the environmental studies while publicly mocking the residents’ request to review them.

The proper process, she explained, would be for studies to be conducted and shared with residents and local authorities, who can rely on technical advisors to review them, since the residents themselves, mostly farmers, do not possess the necessary expertise.

She highlighted just how many things remain unclear to the community.

With management of the Mazotos plant set to be private under a government scheme, questions remain over the operator, contract terms, pricing, and whether the village itself will receive water, as most may be redirected to Ayia Napa, she said.

The concerns reflect broader unease over the increasing role of private actors in Cyprus’ water system. Since March 2025, a €3 million grant scheme has supported small private desalination units, up to 1,500 m³ per day, for hotels and local authorities, with procedures simplified to encourage uptake.

The water development department dismissed these concerns, emphasising that no desalination unit, existing or planned, can set prices or independently dispose of water. All units operate under national security plans, with the Mazotos mobile unit explicitly described as a temporary state measure rather than privatisation.

Still, questions over consultation, environmental studies, and water allocation remain unresolved.

Loizidou reiterated: “In Mazotos, the problem is not the desalination plant itself. The problem is the process the state is following, which has nothing to do with the democratic procedures required by the European Union and our constitution.”