Years of unplanned building without the necessary infrastructure has led to wastewater runoff polluting underground reservoirs and the sea in Trikomo, Turkish Cypriot newspaper Yeniduzen reported on Sunday.

President of the Turkish Cypriot chamber of environmental engineers Sibel Paralik said that it was essential that a proper sewage system and wastewater treatment plant be constructed.

She said the problem spelled a regional environmental disaster.

“Unfortunately, the underground water resources of the region have been completely turned into a wastewater basin, since there is no treatment system in most of the individual residences and the mass housing estates built in this region 2015 onwards, and the wastewater generated by the residences flows directly underground,” she said.

Paralik added that while stakeholders were trying to prevent accumulated wastewater from flowing into the sea, were disinfecting contaminated water, and trying to ensure ground stabilisation, nonetheless, though this may improve the current situation, it was not a full solution to the problem.

She said it was essential that regional policies and permits be re-examined, noting that as the area is one of high groundwater levels, all the raw wastewater generated by the residences is stored underground, significantly polluting the existing groundwater.