As a severe drought strikes Cyprus, questions over the ability of developers to keep building new projects in areas without a natural water supply have been asked, as many are reduced to water restrictions amid temperatures reaching 40 degrees.
Residents in the Ayia Napa and Paralimni municipalities have also been hit doubly as hard as the Dhekelia desalination plant, on which the area relies on heavily for its water, broke down due to power supply issues.
“We have been suffering from water shortages for many years now but the problem has been exacerbated this time due to the island-wide water crisis,” said Antonis Tsokkos, the mayor of Ayia Napa.
Tsokkos revealed that the town’s water supply had been cut from 16 hours every two days to just four hours in an attempt to keep water flowing to tourist resorts in the area. Ideally the town should receive 7,000 tonnes of water on a daily basis. It is now existing on under 2,000.
Local media in Cyprus have begun debating the merits of new projects springing up, particularly as the country’s water infrastructure is already stretched to breaking point from supplying locals and the 800,000 tourists expected in the coming months. According to the Cyprus Water Board dam reserves currently stand at around 7%.
Answering concerns that overseas buyers may be put off from investing on new projects if regular drinking water, let alone swimming pools, are not available, Marc Debieuvre, business development manager for Cypriot developer Pafilia was quoted as saying “Water shortage is a global issue. I would tend to think it would not affect where they buy but what they buy,” he suggested. “Clients will be more and more looking for eco-friendly projects especially regarding water. Pafilia has already undertaken major steps in order to adapt its product, with new sustainable projects offering grey water recycling, use of recycled water for irrigation, smart selection of indigenous plants, trees and shrubs for landscaping which require minimal amount of irrigation, all of which we have undertaken with our new Minthis Hills development.”
No quick solution
Cyprus has grappled with its water supply problems for many years. Annual rainfall hovers around the 500 millilitre mark, with most rain falling in its mountainous regions and in the country’s dams, with nearly 90% lost due to evaporation.
Although the government has promised the construction of three new sea water desalination plants by 2013 to compliment the Larnaca and Dhekelia units, solutions to the current water shortage have led the government to ship in drinking water from neighbouring Greece.
Greece has agreed to sell a record 282.5 million cubic feet of water to Cyprus to help relieve its shortages. Tankers shipping the first batch of 40,000 cubic metres lie in wait off the shore until the infrastructure is ready to pump it into aquifers for filtration.
Despite this move, there have been calls from the country’s agriculture ministry for a moratorium on all new golf course development. Minister Michalis Polynikis has expressed his concerns over the 14 new golf courses due for construction in the future. Polynikis is to submit his proposal to the government next week, citing the enormous 12 million cubic metres of water needed to furnish the courses each year – enough drinking water for 150,000 people.
Courtesy of www.opp.org.uk
