Nicosia EOA installs two new water tanks

Two glass-lined-steel-type water tanks with a capacity of 17,200 cubic metres were inaugurated  by President Nikos Christodoulides at the Nicosia district local government organisation (EOA) on Monday.

“With the completion of the project, Nicosia’s water sufficiency increases substantially, covering needs for more than 36 hours even in the event of a water supply interruption,” Christodoulides said.

He emphasised the project’s “decisive strategic importance” for the capital, describing it as a crucial step towards achieving water security in Cyprus.

“[The two water tanks] significantly enhance the ability to store and safely supply water in an area with greatly increased needs and undoubtedly, the possibilities that arise in a time of extreme weather phenomena and water scarcity are a matter of security, a matter of autonomy, a matter of resilience,” he said.

Christodoulides added that the initial idea for the project of the water tanks, named ‘Cleo’ and ‘Eratos’, emerged before Cyprus was hit by its current water scarcity crisis.

He emphasised that the government aimed to ensure water through specific actions including the overall increase of the available quantity through unconventional sources, an expansion and improvement of water storage and transportation infrastructure, as well as a reduction of demand.

“[Cyprus] has one of the highest water usage rates among all European Union member states with some areas, I will not mention the areas, exceeding 500 litres per person per day,” he said, stressing that this rate was not justifiable.

Measures to increase the quantity of available water include investments in mobile and small desalination plants, as well as terminating the previous policy of using desalination plants solely for reserves, which meant stopping the operation of desalination plants in the event of rain.

“To better understand the results of this approach, it suffices to mention that if in previous years the desalination plants had operated at full capacity, an amount of around 110 million cubic meters would have been added to the intensive balance of our country,” Christodoulides said.

He said that government efforts were underway to ensure that the mobile desalination units in Garylli and the port of Limassol would be completed by March 2026, allowing for a 20 per cent increase in the current desalinated water production capacity alongside the units already operating in Kissonerga and Moni.

“With the completion of these projects, we estimate that approximately 80 per cent of water supply needs will be covered with desalinated water, with the help, and I want to thank them publicly, of the United Arab Emirates, with whom we are in dialogue,” he said.

Christodoulides said that meanwhile the tender procedures for three additional mobile units, in Episkopi, Vassiliko and Ayia Napa, were “in full swing” and could increase the Republic’s water balance by 10 million cubic metres per year.

“And we have also started the procedures for two permanent desalination units, which will operate in 2029, utilising renewable energy sources,” he said.

Christodoulides added that the government is going to spend more than €200 million on water projects aimed to expand water storage and transportation between 2024 and 2030, including both the maintenance and modernisation of the network, as some areas currently experience water losses of up to 40 per cent.

He appealed to the public to be mindful of their water usage, stressing it had direct impacts on the local agricultural sector.

“[High water] consumption, in addition to the other problems it creates, has direct impacts on the primary sector, on our farmers and within this context we all have an obligation, the goal is a 10 per cent reduction in water consumption, a goal that is imposed on each and every one of us,” he said.

The President warned that the year from 2024 to 2025 was one of the driest in Cyprus since 1902 and emphasised that water management remained high on the governments agenda.

Nicosia district governor Constantinos Yiorkadjis echoed Christodoulides, equally highlighting the strategic importance of the new water tanks.

“At a time when the climate crisis, prolonged drought and growing needs make water one of the most critical natural resources, creating water reserves and reducing losses in networks is not an option, it is an obligation,” he said.

Yiorkadjis said that the EOA had a clear goal of ensuring that no household, school or business was “deprived of a good as fundamental as water”, adding that projects such as ‘Cleo’ and ‘Eratos’ ensured a stable and high-quality water supply.

“We believe that priority should be given to the rapidly developing areas of West Nicosia and Lakatamia,” he said in view of future water development projects, as these areas still depend on boreholes and small dams and do not have access to water from desalination units.

He said that a modern water reservoir in Lakatamia has been completed and that the EOA is now proceeding with the construction of another in the Municipality of Latsia-Geri, however stressing that the creation of water storage tanks alone is not enough.

“The state water transport infrastructure in these tanks, the pipelines and the anti-solar panels, must also be upgraded accordingly so that they can meet the needs of society,” he said.

Yiorkadjis reiterated that, to satisfy public demand and ensure the administrative and financial autonomy of the district organisations, the current legislation must be amended and modernised.