Concern about summer

Water emergency in Cyprus even in winter

The water shortage in Cyprus has worsened so far this winter. It is raining again and again, but not enough. Now the Ministry of Agriculture and the waterworks are sounding the alarm: the water reservoirs are only 25 percent full and the prospects for the summer are catastrophic, reports the Cypriot newspaper "Phileleftheros". Two ways to improve the situation are being discussed.

The government in Nicosia is examining the operation of additional desalination plants both in the sea and on land. Five such plants already exist, and further mobile units could be operated on ships and barges directly off the coast. Alternatively, plants could operate on the shore close to the sea.

Hardly any precipitation
The problem is that the new systems need to be delivered as quickly as possible in order to ease the situation. The government has issued a call for tenders, which is primarily concerned with the speed of delivery of the plants; costs and installation location are of secondary importance, writes "Phileleftheros".

In addition to the five desalination plants, Cyprus has 180 dams - more than any other EU country in terms of surface area. But rainfall has been falling sharply for years. According to the Cypriot waterworks, only around 25 million cubic meters flowed into the reservoirs in the winter of 23/24 - half as much as in the previous winter.

Agriculture and tourism at risk
The chairman of the association of around 250 banana producers in Cyprus warns of catastrophic consequences for his members: they are already barely able to water their plants and the entire harvest is in danger. Other farmers are also complaining about the poor conditions.

Not only agriculture, but also tourism is in danger in Cyprus.(Bild: APA/AFP/Iakovos Hatzistavrou)

Tourism is also affected, as images of the Mavrokolympos reservoir near the western Cypriot city of Paphos, which is considered a tourist stronghold, show. Fate struck twice there: firstly, there was insufficient rainfall and secondly, a dam burst so that even the last of the water drained away.

In previous years, locals, hotel and guesthouse operators, as well as tourists, have been called upon to conserve water. This is likely to be the case again this year. Cypriot meteorologists point to climate change, which is making the situation worse.

Pools possibly with seawater
For tourists, the question arises as to whether pools will still be filled in future - some hotel operators are already considering filling the pools with seawater. This sounds simple, but it would have a huge impact on the pool filter systems.

Residents, on the other hand, fear measures such as those taken in the years of water shortage from 2005 to 2007, when people were no longer allowed to hose down their cars or water their gardens during an extreme drought.