Our aim is to ensure the increase of Cyprus's resilience to climate change and the improvement of the quality of life of the residents in terms of sustainability, the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Maria Panagiotou, said on Thursday, after the Council of Ministers, which approved the Action Program to deal with drought and water scarcity.
According to the Minister, the actions include the revision of the tariff policy "with the aim of reducing overconsumption", the reduction of water supply network losses and waste, the installation of mobile desalination units, and the increase of permanent desalination units from five to seven.
In her statements, Ms. Panagiotou, reported that the Council of Ministers approved the Action Program to deal with drought and water scarcity prepared by the Department of Water Development (DWA).
The purpose of the Action Program, he said, is to accelerate the full coverage of water needs by the Governmental Water Supply Systems, to increase the security of supply and reliability of water infrastructure, through the implementation of new and the upgrading of existing water projects, to strengthen food security , ensuring as much water as possible for irrigation purposes, strengthening governance in the water management sector and wastewater, and the use of RES in the desalination units.
To achieve the goals, he added, the Action Program includes 28 targeted actions of which seven are immediate, eight medium-term and 13 long-term. He also reminded that in April 2024 the National Investment Plan for Water Projects was approved by the Council of Ministers with 93 projects with an estimated value of more than 1 billion euros.
"The immediate and medium-term actions aim to deal with the upcoming water shortage crisis in the years 2025-2026 and are expected to strengthen the water balance by more than 15 million. cubic meters per year or 15% of the total amount of water granted by TAU in 2023 for water supply purposes throughout Cyprus", said the Minister.
He noted that the immediate actions that are being implemented and are expected to be completed within 2025, concern, among others, the utilization of four boreholes for irrigation purposes, the improvement of the water supply of communities by the utilization of 20 boreholes and the repair or construction of new infrastructure such as water tanks, and the increasing the production of drinking water from the Dekelia Desalination Unit which, as he noted, has already been implemented.
They also include awareness campaigns to reduce water waste in households "as citizen involvement is considered critical for successful waste reduction," he said, but also improvement of Irrigation Departments by doubling the available budget, reducing water network losses and waste, and installing mobile desalination units.
According to the Minister, so far four desalination units have been sited "and efforts are being made to find other areas for the installation of mobile desalination units". Based on TAU's estimates, their cost is estimated at €66,4 million, he said, noting that these units will operate and remain permanently in the Republic of Cyprus.
"As for the medium-term actions, these have a horizon of implementation and completion in 2025 and 2026 and aim to compress the demand and increase the available amounts of water for both irrigation and water supply," he said.
Specifically, he said, the actions, among others, include the reduction of water supply network losses and waste by replacing or upgrading the water network, installing smart water meters, etc., the revision of the Water Policy with the aim of optimal management of the water balance and the better planning of water projects and the revision of the tariff policy "with the aim of reducing overconsumption".
He also mentioned a reduction in losses in the irrigation networks "as a result of a study that will indicate the main weaknesses of the irrigation systems, which will help in the correct targeting and prioritization of corrective interventions".
The actions also concern the installation of an Integrated Monitoring and Control System of the Water Development Department's network to optimize management and limit losses in the central network worth 7 million euros and with a completion horizon of 2026, he noted.
The Minister also mentioned the promotion of private desalination either for the irrigation of agricultural lands - with financial incentives through the CAP - or for water supply purposes in hotel units. "Until today, hotel units had the right to desalination for irrigation purposes," he noted.
Among the long-term actions that will be completed by 2030, he said, are the promotion of the upgrading/expansion of the five existing Permanent Desalination Units (PMUs) currently managed by TAU up to 50% in relation to their original construction provision, "while promoting the possibility of utilizing RES to cover part of their energy needs". "Through the upgrading/expansion, it is estimated that the water balance will increase from 10 million. up to 40 cm. cubic meters per year", said the Minister.
The long-term actions include the construction of two additional MMAs, "with the goal of Cyprus having at least seven MMAs, also by promoting the use of RES to cover energy needs", he said.
Ms. Panagiotou said that in addition to what he mentioned, "it is established as mandatory" to link the allocations to the Farmers' Improvement Plan through the Strategic Plan of the CAP, with the implementation of rational use and water saving measures "which is also a provision of the Development Strategy of the Primary Sector recently approved by the Cabinet".
At the same time, he noted, the expansion of the utilization of reclaimed water is being promoted in areas that are currently irrigated with water from the Dams, with the utilization of new infrastructure such as the Tersefanou Dam.
In closing, the Minister thanked the Minister of the Interior and his team "who, following the recommendations of the TAU, proceeded to simplify the licensing and evaluation procedures for both the new MMA and the projects that are or will be included in the National Investment Plan for Water Projects".
He also thanked TAU, "which with dedication completed in a very short period of time the Action Plan, which together with the National Investment Plan are our guideposts for the Reform of the Water Resources Management Sector".
"Our goal is to ensure the increase of the resilience of Cyprus to climate change and the improvement of the quality of life of the residents in terms of sustainability", said the Minister.
Finally, he reminded that in addition to the above, the small investment fund with a budget of 29 million euros is open until November 10, which among the eligible actions is the financing of smart irrigation systems and private desalination for irrigation purposes.
"Also, until December 20, the irrigation departments or Associations and Local Government Authorities can draw funding for the installation of RES for water pumping through a special project that we announced with a budget of €500 thousand", he said.
To a journalist's question about water consumption pricing and whether increases will be expected, the Minister said "let's wait for the completion of the study to come to the revision of the pricing policy which we assess as a very important tool to reduce wastage".
He noted that "our pricing policy needs to be revised in order to act as an even more deterrent to waste" always keeping in mind the particularities that professional farmers have but also other particularities that may have households that are in a certain category.
