Water management in the island has met difficulties due to several constraints, which can be grouped in four major categories:

• Natural constraints
  • Reduction of available water resources
• Technical constraints 
  • Non-effective exploitation of many water developments
  •  Linkage between sources of surface water and groundwater
  •  Excessive use of dam water due to reluctance in the use of tertiary treated effluent
  •  The currently adopted cropping patterns
  •  Water losses in domestic water distribution network
• Financial & Administrative constraints
  • High investment costs for new water development schemes
  • The effective and efficient allocation of the limited water resources in time and space and to the various uses 
  • Difficulties in water pricing, especially their approval and definition of subsidy for irrigation water
  • Weakness of existing institutional and organizational structures
  • Identification of conflicting points between the Cypriot water policy and the EU’s water policy and their successful harmonization 
  • Reduced interest of farmers towards agriculture due to lack of labour and lack of effective marketing of agricultural produce 
  • Need for integrated water management, in particular the linkages between irrigation and municipal demand and supply
  • Need for demand management through water conserving technologies, pricing, public awareness and water allocation and regulation.