The Agriculture Ministry has announced immediate emergency measures to prevent a serious water supply crisis in Paphos district, following acute water shortages and the malfunction of the area’s desalination plant.
The ministry’s director general presented an emergency management plan to local authorities during a comprehensive meeting, aimed at ensuring adequate drinking water supplies during the coming critical months.
Prolonged drought combined with the non-operation of the Kouklia desalination plant has necessitated strict and realistic measures to meet drinking water demand over the next few months. However, the plan’s success depends largely on rational consumption, officials warned.
Uncontrolled water usage does not constitute justified increased demand and could lead to failure of even the most well-designed measures, authorities noted.
The target is to cover maximum daily demand, estimated at 43,000 cubic metres for the greater Paphos and Pegeia areas. This represents a 4% increase from last year’s peak demand of 41,300 cubic metres, with total requirements until year-end reaching 9,154,200 cubic metres.
Primary water sources include the Asprokremmos and Kannaviou dams, the Anarita and Kannaviou treatment plants, and boreholes at various locations. The total available quantity from these sources amounts to 9,173,300 cubic metres, marginally covering demand.
The Anarita treatment plant can produce a maximum daily output of 30,000 cubic metres from Asprokremmos Dam (5,586,720 cubic metres until year-end) and from Kannaviou Dam (1,193,280 cubic metres until year-end).
Additionally, the Kannaviou treatment plant provides 3,500 cubic metres daily for Pegeia, with production until year-end reaching 723,200 cubic metres.
Daily production from both treatment plants is expected to reach 33,500 cubic metres.
An additional 11,520 cubic metres will be produced from boreholes: 1,260 cubic metres from boreholes upstream of Asprokremmos (284,760 cubic metres until year-end), 9,000 cubic metres daily downstream of Asprokremmos (1,260,600 until year-end), and another 1,260 cubic metres from 15 June for the Pegeia area from Geological Survey Department boreholes.
Until year-end, water delivery will amount to 1,260 cubic metres. Total daily water production from both sources is estimated at 45,020 cubic metres, reaching 9,173,300 cubic metres by year-end.
