MPs demanded answers over pollution in the Limassol sea on Wednesday, with the House environment committee expressing dissatisfaction with the environment department.

Committee members questioned the department’s position that its inspections had found no evidence of pollution, while a sample taken in the area on August 11 was found to be contaminated, according to Limassol mayor Yiannis Armeftis.

Disy MP Michalis Kounounis said checks were being carried out at 29 points twice a month, with the analyses reportedly showing no problem.

“How is it possible, on the one hand, that we hear that the analyses are clear and on the other hand that we have such a finding?” he asked.

“What is the real quality of the sea in Limassol?”

He said authorities should stop describing the problem and start actually addressing it.

Committee chairman and Elam MP Linos Papayiannis said the issue had remained unresolved for 10 months and extended beyond Limassol.

“No service considered competent under the legislation has convinced the members of the committee that this is the case,” he said.

Papayiannis said the matter would return to the committee shortly and there should be no further delay in determining what action was required.

Akel MP Marina Nikolaou called for a broader approach, saying pollution could not be dealt with in a piecemeal manner.

She called for all sampling results to be made public and for an investigation into recent incidents at the Moni wastewater treatment plant and the drainage pipeline ending in Dasoudi.

“Citizens have the right to know what is happening, whether there have been violations, and what measures are being taken,” she said.

Nikolaou also called for more inspectors as well as inquires of possible pollution sources including sewage facilities, pipelines, industrial activity and illegal discharges.

Alma MP Litsa Drousiotou called for better coordination between the services responsible for monitoring the coast.

She questioned who was responsible for taking action and how officials were held accountable when problems were not addressed.

She said pollution in Limassol had been occurring for five to 10 years without authorities providing clear answers about its causes.

Drousiotou also raised concerns over plans to use drones to monitor the sea and identify pollution sources, saying the committee had been told there was insufficient staff to operate them.

She said people were unable to swim in some circumstances and criticised what she described as a “reactive approach” by the state.

Erma Stylianides of the Epsilon foundation called for immediate action rather than further committees.

“We are tired of the committees and the sewage that we find every day in the sea,” she said, calling for the government to “take responsibility now”.