Heavy rain a welcome boost to water reserves

Water inflows into Cyprus’ reservoirs are showing signs of improvement compared to last year, with more rain forecast later this week expected to further boost reserves, a senior official said on Monday.

First technical engineer at the water development department, Marios Hadjicostis said the improved outlook means water supply conditions may be less severe than initially feared.

“It seems we will not struggle as much to get through the year as earlier projections suggested,” he said, adding that better water distribution for both drinking and irrigation purposes may now be possible.

Inflows over the past three days reached two million cubic metres, marking a sharp increase from previous daily levels of around 200,000 cubic metres.

He said flows rose significantly over the weekend and are expected to remain high in the coming days.

“I expect increased inflow today and tomorrow as well. By tomorrow morning, inflow could reach around 1.5 million cubic metres,” he said, adding that rainfall forecast from Thursday onwards is likely to push daily inflows above one million cubic metres for several days.

Based on current data, Hadjicostis said there is a 99 per cent probability that water reserves will surpass last year’s low levels.

“This was our initial target and it seemed very difficult at first,” he said, noting that inflows during October to December were the lowest of the decade.

Current reservoirs levels stand at 21.8 per cent, or 63.3 million cubic metres, compared to 25.1 per cent, or 72.9 million cubic metres, at the same time last year.

However, the nine-million-cubic-metre gap is expected to be covered within a week if rainfall continues as forecast.

The situation varies across regions, with Nicosia showing a significantly improved picture compared to last year. Several smaller reservoirs, including those in Klirou and Solia, are already overflowing, while others such as Kalopanayiotis have also reached capacity.

In the Polis Chrysochous area, conditions are markedly better, with two dams already overflowing and another nearing capacity. The Evretou dam, which supplies irrigation water to the region, currently holds more water than it did at its peak last year.

Paphos reservoirs are also approaching last year’s levels, with Mavrokolympos at around 64 per cent capacity.

However, the southern conveyor system, which supplies water to Limassol, Nicosia, Larnaca and Famagusta, remains a concern.

“The situation there is somewhat more disappointing compared to other areas. We need an additional 12.5 million cubic metres to reach last year’s levels,” he said.

Despite this, Hadjicostis expressed optimism that continued rainfall will improve the situation, noting that saturated ground conditions now allow more rainwater to flow directly into reservoirs.

“The coming days appear more than sufficient to cover March’s average rainfall,” he said, adding that precipitation in mountainous areas will be key to replenishing the southern system.

He also said that, if improved inflow trends continue, authorities may revise water management plans.

“It is possible that more water will be allocated to farmers, but this will depend on a new assessment based on the updated data,” he said.