Paphos, Cyprus. Paphos district governor Charalambos Pittokopitis on Thursday welcomed the Council of Ministers’ decision to allocate additional water for irrigation, saying the district should not face water supply cuts during the summer. He said local authorities remained in close contact with the Water Development Department to manage reserves as conditions had improved in recent months.
Water allocation decision
Pittokopitis said the Paphos district local government organisation (EOA) continued its close communication and cooperation with the Water Development Department (WDD) to ensure the best possible management of the district’s water reserves.
His comments followed the cabinet’s approval of an additional 3.5 million cubic metres of water, with 2 million cubic metres allocated to the wider Paphos region.
Call for conservation
Pittokopitis said conditions had improved significantly in recent months but described water as a limited and precious resource. He urged residents to avoid unnecessary consumption.
He also said the EOA had begun replacing and repairing ageing pipelines to reduce water losses.
Desalination projects
Pittokopitis said he hoped the agriculture ministry and the WDD would move ahead with upgrades to the existing desalination plant in Kouklia and the installation of a new desalination unit in Chrysochou Bay.
Reservoir and rainfall data
Water levels in Cypriot dams currently stand at 42.4 per cent, almost double the 21.6 per cent recorded at the same time last year. Recent government data showed the highest storage levels in reservoirs in the Nicosia district.
Average rainfall in May reached 46.7 millimetres, equivalent to 238 per cent of the normal amount for the month. The monthly average was exceeded at all measuring stations and reached almost four times the norm in some areas.