Paphos district governor Charalambos Pittokopitis on Thursday welcomed the Council of Ministers’ decision to allocate additional water for irrigation, saying the district should not face water supply cuts during the summer.

“As the Paphos district local government organisation (EOA), we continue our close communication and cooperation with the Water Development Department (WDD) to ensure the best possible management of the district’s water reserves,” he said.

Pittokopitis said conditions had improved significantly in recent months but stressed that water remained a “limited and precious resource”, urging residents to avoid unnecessary consumption.

He added that the EOA had begun replacing and repairing ageing pipelines to reduce water losses.

Pittokopitis also expressed hope that the agriculture ministry and the WDD would proceed with upgrades to the existing desalination plant in Kouklia, as well as the installation of a new desalination unit in Chrysochou Bay.

His comments came shortly after the cabinet approved the allocation of an additional 3.5 million cubic metres of water, of which 2 million cubic metres will be directed to the wider Paphos region.

The water levels in Cypriot dams currently stand at 42.4 per cent, almost double the 21.6 per cent recorded at the same time last year. According to recent government data, the highest storage levels are recorded in reservoirs in the Nicosia district.

Average rainfall in May reached 46.7 millimetres, equivalent to 238 per cent of the normal amount for the month, exceeding the monthly average at all measuring stations and reaching almost four times the norm in some areas.