The water situation is tragic since we are in the middle of November and the amount of water stored in the dams amounts to 41,4 million cubic meters of water, which corresponds to a percentage of 14,3%. The corresponding quantity stored last year in the dams of Cyprus was 57,4 ECM or 19,8% of their fullness.
The director of the Department of Water Development (WDD), Andreas Manolis, described the water situation as lousy, noting that the reserves are very low. As he said, the reserves are 16 ECM less than last year, adding that 10 million are missing from the dams of Paphos and the remaining 6 million from the Southern Pipeline. The aim of the WDD is not to increase the difference further, which seems to be achieving.
We hope, he said, for significant inflows in the coming months. At the moment, the inputs are almost negligible, since we had 265 thousand since October 1. As he explained, the WDD is taking all measures for proper management of water resources so that we do not experience tragic situations in the future.
The main concern regarding the water supply concerns the city of Paphos, which is currently in a critical condition and if the desalination plant is not completed according to the schedules set, it will face a serious problem in the future. Especially due to the very limited water reserves in the dams of Asprokremos and Kannavi.
In an effort to reduce the water supply problems of large urban centers, necessary works are being carried out or launched to alleviate or solve the problems of water scarcity for the benefit of the citizens. WDD implements sustainable development policies and water resources management.
These important projects include the pipelines that will connect Nicosia, but also the free area of Famagusta directly with desalination units, in order to finally solve the water supply problem of large urban centers regardless of the weather conditions.
This year we are going through the third year of water shortage in our country and the WDD expects rainfall in order to increase the reserves in the dams and to be able to better manage things, especially with regard to farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture is directed to give another 2 ECM for agricultural purposes if stocks allow.
Fight not to make Paphos thirsty
The WDD race is now focused on the construction and operation of the desalination plant in Paphos. The goal is to spend 2018 to meet the needs of the city. Mr. Manolis expressed the hope that the procedures will be completed in order to start the supply of desalinated water in Paphos from the summer of 2019. He explained, however, that the Department does not sit idly by expecting everything to go well in relation to the competition in progress.
He added that in order to avoid the risk of lack of drinking water in Paphos in the summer of 2018, the Asprokremos and Evretos dams will be interconnected. The project, he added, will be completed in 6 to 8 months. According to Mr. Manolis, with the installation of pipelines for the interconnection of the two dams, 10 thousand cubic meters per day can be transported from Kannaviou. It is noted that the daily needs of Paphos amount to 30 thousand cubic meters of water per day.
In the three large dams of Paphos, the reserves are 14,7 million cubic meters of water, noting that last year in the same period, 24,2 million had accumulated in the three dams. The Asprokremos dam has accumulated 10,2 million cubic meters of water, the Kannaviou dam 4,1 million cubic meters of water and the Mavrokolympos dam 0,4 million cubic meters of water.
The water is small, say the farmers
This year is the first time that restrictions have been imposed on irrigation in the province of Paphos. The limited rainfall due to the low inflow and storage of water in the dams may not affect the households that are supplied with desalinated water, however, for irrigation purposes, 16% restrictions have been imposed compared to last year. As is well known, decisions about the water that will be provided to farmers depend solely on the quantities stored in the dams.
After the assessment of water resources and water needs, it was decided the amount of water that will be provided to farmers for permanent plantations, greenhouses and seasonal.
It is emphasized that the real water needs in the irrigation works are considered the quantities that have been consumed in 2004 which was the only year that no irrigation cuts were made, since all the dams had overflowed. These quantities do not exceed 70 million sq.m. Pancyprian. In the areas irrigated by the Southern Pipeline the total consumption was about 44 million sq.m.
Source: Liberal
