Mismanagement and a problematic contract are at the heart of the sewage leak plaguing Yeroskipou’s coast, the president of the Paphos district organisation (EOA), Charalambos Pittokopitis, said on Monday after calling an emergency meeting.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Pittokopitis said the meeting focused on boosting coordination and taking urgent action to prevent what he described as the “unacceptable and criminal phenomenon” of sewage spilling onto the beach. An external electrical and mechanical engineer, who advises the EOA on the operation of pumping stations and the biological treatment plant at Acheleia, also attended.

According to Pittokopitis, new measures were agreed between the EOA and the private consortium managing the facilities. These include daily inspections of the biological treatment plant and the final pumping station, carried out by a technical engineer from the EOA, to ensure close monitoring of the system’s operation.

Pittokopitis said daily supervision would ensure strict compliance with contract terms and allow for immediate corrective action when needed. He said public complaints were fully justified, noting that the organisation had inherited “a problematic contract”. Contractors had accepted the project at a very low price, resulting in lower profits and reduced maintenance of the machinery, which in turn affected the running of the plant.

He also cited poor management of the tanks and pumps, leading to repeated sewage flooding onto the beach. Meanwhile, the mayor of Yeroskipou, Nikos Palios, has sent an urgent letter to the director of the environment department, calling for swift intervention. He raised concerns over the unbearable stench from the leak and the accumulation of wastewater.