Government reaffirms desalination as only solution to water scarcity

Efforts to resolve Cyprus continuous water scarcity problem will focus primarily on increasing the available amount of portable water by installing further desalination units, agriculture ministry secretary Andreas Gregoriou said on Wednesday.

“Until now, we cover nearly 70 per cent of needs in portable water by desalination units,’ next year, we will increase the existing quantities by 30 per cent, which will be provided via seven desalination units,” he said.

The desalination plants mentioned by Gregoriou concern mobile units which are expected to be operational by the end of 2026.

He said that the expected addition of 30 thousand cubic metres of water to the current water system per day, which would increase the total water supply to 77 thousand cubic metres daily.

The capacity of Cyprus water reservoirs has decreased by 16 per cent in one year, now standing at only 11 per cent – a total of 33 million cubic metres.

Reservoir water is currently being utilised for both agricultural irrigation purposes and portable water use.

Covering the island’s portable water needs via desalination is therefore expected to indirectly affect amount of water made available for farmers, who have been making repeated appeals to the government, warning that the lack of water seriously threatened their crops.

“We will at least have enough [portable] water for the people,” he said.

Acknowledging that the lack of water in the reservoirs was a persistent issue that could not be resolved by establishing further desalination units, Gregoriou expressed optimism that by covering the islands portable water needs via desalination, more water for agricultural use would be left in the reservoirs.

“By 2028, we expect 100 per cent of portable water needs to be provided by desalination units, and if there’s enough rainfall in the reservoirs, this water will be made available for farmers,” he said.

Gregoriou said that, aside from the reservoirs, farmers were currently receiving recycled water from the sewage system and stressed the government’s aim to further promote relevant projects.

President Nikos Christodoulides had on Tuesday reiterated the governments commitment to addressing the issue of water scarcity, setting out a target for Cyprus’ full water self-reliance by 2028.

“The effective treatment of water scarcity and the rational management of water resources are for a matter of utmost importance and a strategic priority for the government,” he said speaking at the inauguration of the new water reservoir of the Larnaca local district organisation (EOA).

Criticism of the government regarding the water issue has become harsher in recent weeks, with the House agriculture committee sharply criticising the government for insufficient action in a debate in late October.