Cyprus reservoirs are 70 per cent full

Reservoir capacity is approaching the 70 per cent mark, water department spokesman Marios Hadjicostis said on Tuesday.

The combined reservoir capacity currently stands at 69.4 per cent, which corresponds to 201.7 million cubic metres, up by about 2 per cent since early February. At the corresponding time last year, reservoirs held 57 million cubic metres more.

Nonetheless, this is enough water to see us through the year, Hadjicostis said, although he emphasised that water conservation should be an ingrained practice in Cyprus.

“We can’t rest easy,” Hadjicostis said, “We may not again be forced to import water with ships as in the past, but we are familiar with droughts which can last two to three years.”

The Paphos dams are doing well, Hadjicostis noted and some of the smaller dams relied on for farming are full or overflowing, with Argaka dam expected to overflow on Tuesday and Tamasos in the next few days.

Although recycled and desalinated water can be used if necessary, it is good practice to use dam water prudently even for farming, Hadjicostis said.

Kouris dam in Limassol is the main reservoir to keep an eye on, however, Hadjicostis explained, as all the other districts except Paphos rely on it.

Kouris currently stands at almost 50 per cent full and it holds 64 per cent of the island’s potable water supply.