Cyprus: Range of circumstances and region analysis

Abstract

Cyprus’s water resources are highly developed with the most economically viable plans already implemented. A comprehensive approach to water management has been adopted involving conjunctive use of surface and groundwater and addressing the interrelationships between demands for domestic and irrigation water. Demand management is used to control consumption. The techniques include pricing, rationing, increased irrigation efficiency through automated irrigation systems and water conservation measures.

Nonetheless, Cyprus continues to face, due to current drought conditions, an increasingly serious water shortage. Exploiting the remaining scarce water resources will be expensive. The main implication of this shortage is that irrigation’s water consumption may have to decline if Cyprus is to continue to rely more on conventional rather than non-conventional sources of water. Already two desalination plants are in operation producing a daily total of 90000 cu. m. and a third plant is envisaged for commissioning by 2004. Difficult policy decisions will be necessary.

Cyprus has always been confronted with the problem of inadequate water both for its domestic and its irrigation needs arising from its traditional inclination towards agriculture and the booming tourism industry. The problem of inadequate water for domestic water existed in the past because infrastructure did not keep pace with the expanding urban areas. This problem was being further exacerbated in times of drought. Today, and after most of the water resources of the island have been developed, the problem still persists. This is due to the increasing number of tourists and the high seasonal demand for water, the increased standard of living and the drought conditions experienced in the last few years.

Due to climatologic conditions and development, Cyprus will always be short of water. Land availability on the island surpasses water availability. The result is that despite considerable ground and surface water development, only a small proportion of the land is irrigated. In total, the irrigated land does not exceed 20 percent of the total cultivated land. The competing demands for domestic and agricultural purposes, the degradation of certain groundwater areas and the ongoing drought all serve to exacerbate the problem.

New legislation for the protection of water and a new proposed law for water resources management under one Entity together with the implementation of the EU Water Framework directive give a new impetus to the local efforts for water management.

In the text that follows an overview of the existing water conditions and circumstances for the whole country is presented. Finally and after analysing all major hydrologic regions, and on the basis of specific indices, three regions are selected as representative of water deficient regions, either due to climatologic reasons, complicated circumstances, increased demand or inappropriate and inefficient water resources management. These are the Akrotiri aquifer area, the Germasogeia river water system and the Kokkinochoria area. The range of circumstances in these three regions is analysed, and presented in table form.

Introduction

The Mediterranean Islands have seen growing pressure on water resources, with increasing demand and costs, for agricultural, domestic, tourism and industrial consumption. This has brought about the need to maximize and augment the use of existing or unexploited sources of freshwater. The Mediterranean islands and mostly the southern Mediterranean countries are suffering from water scarcity due to structural and seasonal water shortages and high rates of population growth associated with a high tourism influx.

Cyprus is an arid to semi arid island state situated in the northeastern Mediterranean. The renewable freshwater resources are highly constrained. These are characterized by a strong spatial and temporal scarcity caused by the seasonal distribution of precipitation, and the topography.

Although a large number of various water supply investments and interventions have been made such as surface water dams, groundwater exploitation, interbasin water transfers, desalination and reuse of tertiary treated effluent, Cyprus is still a long way from reconciling the demand to the availability of water.

Currently and after a long sequence of relatively dry years all the aquifers have been exploited far beyond their safe yield with the result of most of the coastal aquifers being sea intruded to extents of up to 2 kilometers, the yield of the wells has dropped considerably and strategic reserves have been totally depleted.

Most of the economic sites for surface water dams have been used up and additional reservoirs have prohibitively high costs to develop.

Irrigation efficiencies are quite high being in the range of 75% or higher and thus no serious additional saving can be expected.

Presently Cyprus has brought into use non-conventional water resources such as desalination to cope with domestic supply of the major urban and tourist areas and the reuse of tertiary treated effluent to meet part of the irrigation demand. In addition it has high in its water policy the water demand management and water conservation practices in its effort to balance water demand to supply.

Currently, Cyprus has embarked in the modernization of its water legislation and its harmonization with European directives.

Drought sequences may cause water shortage problems anywhere in the island but certain areas face long term water shortage mainly due to lack of water availability or increased demand or even due to ineffective management practice. In the report that follows a general overview of the island’s water resources and demand is given followed by a brief description of three selected areas, the Akrotiri, the Germasogeia and the Kokkinochoria where water scarcity, overexploitation and management problems are evident.

Table 1: Summary of Cyprus’s physical characteristics

Background	Description
Climate	Cyprus has an intense Mediterranean climate with the typical seasonal rhythm strongly marked with respect to temperature, precipitation and weather in general. Hot dry summers from mid-May to mid-September and rainy, rather changeable, winters from November to mid-March are separated by short autumn and spring seasons of rapid change in weather conditions. At latitude 35° North, Longitude 33° East, Cyprus has a change in day length from 9.8 hours in December to 14.5 hours in June. The central Troodos massif, rising to 1951 metres a.m.s.l., and to a less extent the long narrow Kyrenia mountain range, with peaks of about 1000 metres a.m.s.l., play an important part in the meteorology of Cyprus. The predominantly clear skies and high sunshine amounts give large seasonal and daily differences between temperatures of the sea and the interior of the island that also cause considerable local effects especially near the coasts. In summer the island is mainly under the influence of a shallow trough of low pressure extending from the great continental depression centred over southwest Asia. It is a season of high temperatures with almost cloudless skies. Precipitation is almost negligible but isolated thunderstorms sometimes occur which give precipitation amounting to less than 5% of the total in the average year. In winter Cyprus is near the track of fairly frequent small depressions that cross the Mediterranean Sea from west to east between the continental anticyclone of Eurasia and the generally low-pressure belt of North Africa. These depressions give periods of disturbed weather usually lasting from one to three days and produce most of the annual precipitation. The average precipitation from December to February being about 60% of the annual total. The average precipitation for the year as a whole is about 500 mm but it was as low as 182 mm in 1972/73 and as high as 759 mm in 1968/69. The average precipitation refers to the island as a whole and covers the period 1961-1990. Statistical analysis of precipitation in Cyprus reveals a decrease of precipitation amounts in the last 30 years. The mean annual precipitation increases up the southwestern windward slopes from 450 millimetres to nearly 1,100 millimetres at the top of the central massif. On the leeward slopes amounts decrease steadily northwards and eastwards to between 300 and 350 millimetres in the central plain and the flat south eastern parts (the Kokkinochoria area) of the island. (Rossel 2001)
Geomorphology	Two mountain ranges run east to west. The Troodos mountains cover approximately 3 500 km² in the west and rise to nearly 2 000 m. The Kyrenia mountain range along the northern coast covers 400 km² and rises to 950 m. In between these two mountain ranges lies the central plain of Mesaoria covering 2 500 km². The remaining land forms narrow coastal plains, which are good for agriculture. There are no perennial streams. Most of the winter streams traversing these plains originate in the Troodos Mountains, and have deep alluvial beds in which substantial volumes of groundwater can be stored.
Geology	There are four major geologic belts that are roughly parallel to each other in an east - west direction. In a south-westward sequence these are: 1. The Kyrenia mountain range consisting mainly of limestone enveloped on either side by chalks and flysch deposits. The limestone constitutes the major aquifer in this belt. This Range is markedly elongate, narrow and runs slightly inland of and parallel to the north coast. 2. The broad Mesaoria Plain, which separates the Kyrenia from the Troodos Mountain range. Within this broad east - west belt are nearly horizontal sediments of Pliocene to Recent age. These consist of marl, calcarenites, calcareous sandstones and conglomerates interspersed with finer sediments. These coarser sediments form the only noteworthy aquifer at the western part of this particular region. 3. The Troodos Igneous Massif the central part of which is occupied by plutonic rocks. A sheeted intrusive complex constitutes the largest portion of the range and surrounds or occasionally intrudes the plutonic rocks. To these rocks, the Troodos Pillow Lava Series form a rough girdle. The Troodos massif has the shape of a rather squashed oval, eighty kilometers long, about thirty kilometers wide. It receives most of the available rainfall. The nature of its constituent rocks precludes deep percolation except along fracture zones, hence there is considerable runoff and its drainage includes the largest of Cyprus streams. 4. Calcareous sediments that overlap onto the igneous rocks of the massif form the foothills to the south and west. Within those, in the western part of the island are outcrops of the highly contorted and predominant shaly rocks of the Mamonia complex that form an aquiclude. Within the calcareous sediments, the Middle Miocene contains aquiferous sediments, conglomerates and gypsum deposits. Along the coast and forming a distinct but discontinuous coastal plain, are rocks of the Plio-Pleistocene that although dominantly marly, they include lenses of coarser material forming aquifers that are of importance. Extensive river gravel deposits that form good and readily exploitable aquifers in fill the V-shaped valleys cut by the rivers, beyond the steep gradients of the mountain areas.
Land use	Some 60 per cent of the Island is arable of which 85 per cent is cultivated. Twenty per cent of the Island is forest most of which is owned by the State, principally of pines which are most extensive on Troodos. Extensive carob and olive tree plantations are located on the foothills of Troodos. Rain-fed vines cover large areas; mainly at elevations of 600 to 1200 m. Dry-land farming is practiced in the plains where wheat and barley are widely cultivated. Irrigated crops include citrus, deciduous trees, table-grapes, potatoes and vegetables. The soils are in general poor in nitrogen and phosphorus, but rich in potassium.
Aridity Index	Cyprus may be subdivided into four main topo-climatic regions: a) The high altitude areas (500 to 1950 m. amsl) of the Troodos mountain range that dominates the central part of the island (18% of the island). The mean annual precipitation is 690 mm varying from 400 to 700 mm at elevations of 500m to 1100 mm at the peak of the mountain. The mean annual evaporation varies from 1400 to 1700 mm at 500 m elevation to 1000 mm at the top. This area may be assigned an overall aridity index of 0.54 classifying it as “Dry sub-humid”. b) The slopes of the Troodos mountain Range at altitudes of 200 to 500 m. amsl (27% of the island) with a mean rainfall of 300 to 500 mm at the lower elevation and 400 to 700 mm at the higher elevations, the rainfall being higher at the western and southern slopes rather than at the northern and eastern slopes. The annual evaporation varies similarly from 1600 to 1900 mm at lower elevations to 1400 and 1700 mm at the higher ones. This area may be assigned an overall aridity index of 0.3 classifying it as “Semi-arid”. c) The Mesaoria Plain dominating the central eastern part of the island (20% of the island) at elevations of 0 to 200 m. amsl with an annual rainfall in the range of 290 to 350 mm and an evaporation of 1650 to 1850 mm. The area may be classified as “Arid” with an aridity index of 0.18, and d) The coastal areas at 0 to 200 m elevation amsl, but including the Pentadactylos mountain range along the northern part of the island (35% of the island). The mean annual rainfall varies between 350 and 400 mm in the south-eastern and southern areas and 450 to 500 mm in the western and northern areas. The mean annual evaporation is in the range of 1700 to 2000 mm. Using the same Penmann-Monteith classification these areas may be termed as “Semi-arid” with an aridity index of 0.23. Thus, the overall average aridity index is 0.295 classifying the climate of the whole island as Semi-arid.
Permanent Population	The present permanent population (based on the 1992 census and the population growth rate provided by the Department of Statistics –0.9% for the urban areas and 0.6% for the rural areas) within the government-controlled areas of Cyprus is 673 000 of which 74% lives in the main cities and suburbs and 26% in the rural areas. Although definite figures are not available for the Turkish Cypriots in the occupied part of the island, it is believed that at present they amount to some 88 000 after some 55 000 have left the island. The recorded tourist arrivals in Cyprus for 2001 were 2 777 000 with an average stay of 11.3 days

Fig. 1: Mean annual precipitation in mm over the period of 1971 to 2000

Fig. 2 : Mean annual Class A Pan evaporation in mm in 1991 to 2000

Overview of the country

Water Demand and Supply Status

The Total Annual Water Demand for the government-controlled part of Cyprus for the year 2000 is estimated to be 266 million m³ (Mm³) and is distributed as follows (FAO Project TCP/CYP/8921):

AGRICULTURE			182.5 MCM		69%
DOMESTIC			67.5 MCM		25%
Inhabitants	53.4 MCM	79% of Domestic		20%
Tourism	14.1 MCM	21% of Domestic		5%
Total domestic	67.5 MCM	100%		25%
INDUSTRY			3.5 MCM		1%
ENVIRONMENT			12.5 MCM		5%
TOTAL WATER DEMAND			266 MCM		100%

The projected annual water demand in million m³ for the years 2005, 2010 and 2020 is as follows (The estimates being based on: 215 litres/capita/day for main towns, 180 litres/capita/day for villages and 465 litres/capita/day for tourist demand):

Sector of Demand / Year	2000	2005	2010	2020
Agriculture	182.4	182.4	182.4	182.4
Domestic
Inhabitants	53.4	58.4	63.2	73.5
Tourism	14.1	18.0	22.9	30.8
Industry	3.5	5.0	6.0	7.0
Environment	12.5	14.0	16.0	20.0
TOTAL (Mm³/a)	265.9	277.8	290.5	313.7

Agriculture, being the major water-consuming sector about 70%, contributes little on the GDP. On the other hand, tourism consuming about 6% of the total water demand of all sectors, contributes by over 20% on the GDP.

The recent consecutive dry years, have affected all the sectors of water use, particular the agriculture and domestic. During the year 2000, the average water shortage was 37.6% in agriculture and 23.4% in domestic. Such situation has led the Government to look for alternative sources of supply (desalination), at least for domestic purposes.

Water Availability

Total Water resources/Availability	The island-wide water balance based on the average rainfall of the 1951- 1980 thirty-year period of 477 mm, and which is 95% of the long-term average of 500 mm, is presented here below. This period is chosen since this is the last for which rainfall data are available for the whole island, the northern part of the island being inaccessible after 1974. The average annual water crop for this period amounts to 780 Mm³. Some 65 percent, or 510 Mm³, of the total annual water crop appears as surface runoff. Of the total surface runoff only 45 percent, or 230 Mm³, (29 percent of the total water crop) is lost to the sea. This indicates the high level of surface runoff utilization and control achieved in Cyprus over the last 40 years. It should be noted that a large proportion of the losses to the sea include overland flow and flow from minor streams which do not render themselves for regulation and control. Some 27 percent, or 140 Mm³, infiltrates into riverbed aquifers and coastal alluvial fans. Part of this water is drawn through wells and boreholes, and the remainder goes to the sea. 8 percent,or 40 Mm³, of surface runoff is used diverted for spate irrigation in late winter or early spring, and especially during wet seasons. A large quantity of the surface runoff is captured in surface reservoirs, which provide inter-annual storage. Thus, these reservoirs generally are able to hold two to three times the average annual flow of a stream. The island’s total surface reservoir capacity is 300 Mm³. Current use of stored water for irrigation and domestic supply is about 20 percent or 100 Mm³. Excluding surface runoff the remainder of the annual water crop, or 270 Mm³, is assumed to directly replenish the island’s aquifers. Added to the direct recharge of 270 Mm³, is surface runoff recharge of 140 Mm³, amounting to a total recharge of 410 Mm³ annually. Of the total annual replenishment 54 percent, or 220 Mm³, is pumped for irrigation and domestic uses, with the remaining 56 percent, or 230 Mm³, going to the sea. Where pumping exceeds recharge, a deficit of 10 percent, or 40 Mm³, is created in certain aquifers. The result of long-term over-pumping has been sea-intrusion in certain major coastal aquifers. Subsurface losses to the sea derive from minor aquifers during early spring when water is not needed for irrigation and from river delta deposits during winter. The major aquifers also lose a small proportion that is needed to control sea intrusion. Thus, it appears that Cyprus’s water development is approaching its limits. Only improved water management and redistribution to water conserving uses would be able to provide additional water in the future. In a normal year, the water availability is sufficient to cover both domestic and irrigation demands, and keep a favourable water balance overall. The frequent occurrence of dry years though greatly affects the availability of water and on many occasions the water stored in the reservoirs, both surface and groundwater are far below the annual demands.
The Average Annual Water Crop	For the period of 1951 to 1980 the average annual total water crop has been calculated on the basis of the catchment areas, the respective average annual rainfall and the corresponding percentage of net rainfall. For this period the Total Water Crop for the island amounts to 781 Mm3. A recent study by FAO and the WDD for 31 watersheds and using the observed flows of the period of 1971 to 2000 shows a reduction by as much as 58% of the estimates based on the period of 1951 to 1980. This is attributed mainly to the reduction of rainfall over the same period compared to the periods before 1970. The mean annual precipitation of this period is 100mm or more lower than the mean of the older period at almost every location of elevation higher than 500 m
The Surface Runoff	The surface runoff refers to the water flowing at the surface either appearing in streams and used either for spate irrigation, or stored in surface reservoirs and subsequently used, or recharging riverbed alluvial aquifers or alluvial fans on the coast and finally part of it being discharged to the sea. Overland flow that appears during storms and most of which is lost to the sea is also included under the same term. The Table below shows the surface runoff for each Hydrologic Region together with the allocation to various uses and amounts going to recharge or discharging to the sea. Of the total surface water resources only some 35 % are lost to the sea, which indicates the high utilization and control on surface runoff that has been achieved in the island through the water development schemes that have been put into operation in the last 35 years. This is more important if one considers that a large proportion of the losses to the sea contain overland flow and flow from minor streams which do not offer good opportunity for control. Some 28 % is estimated to infiltrate the riverbed aquifers and the coastal alluvial fans, part of which is pumped through wells and boreholes and part finds its way to the sea through the subsurface. Some 7 % is used directly from the surface runoff by diversions for spate irrigation in late winter or early spring, especially during wet seasons. A large quantity of the surface runoff is captured in surface reservoirs, most of which have a capacity two to three times larger than the average annual flow of a stream to provide inter-annual storage. The total surface reservoir capacity in the island is 300 Mm3. The quoted use of surface water from dams for irrigation and domestic supply refers to the rated yield of each reservoir. The total use of water from reservoirs, or from diversions to reservoirs, in an average year, is of the order of 30 %.
The Groundwater resources	The balance of the annual Total Water Crop less the Surface Water Resources is assumed to replenish directly the aquiferous systems in the island some of which constitute the major aquifers and some are of lesser importance due to their small yield and extent. To this direct recharge, the recharge from surface runoff is added to provide the total annual ground water replenishment that is considered as the safe yield of the aquifers. The Table below lists, by Region, the estimated ground water replenishment due to surface runoff and direct from rainfall as well as the allocation of the ground water resources to usage and subsurface losses to the sea. The amounts of annual over-pumping are also indicated. Of the annual total Ground Water replenishment of 415 Mm3 some 66 % are due to direct recharge from rainfall and 34 % from the surface runoff. Of the total annual replenishment, some 58 % is pumped and used for irrigation and domestic water supply and some 55 % finds its way to the sea through the subsurface. This creates a deficit in certain aquifers where pumping exceeds the replenishment of a total of 13 %.
Transboundary Water	There is no trans-boundary water flow in the island except along the artificial boundary created between the “occupied” and the government controlled part of the island. This does not involve more than 10% of the total water resources.

Region		Catchment	Average	Surface	Surface Water Use (Mm³)
No	Name	Area (km²)	Rainfall (mm)	Runoff (Mm³)	Spate Irrig.	from Dams	to Recharge	Runoff to sea
1	PAFOS	1188	627	125	9	47	20	48
2	TYLLIRIA	745	585	59	2	10	7	39
3	MORFOU	1585	429	96	7	6	42	41
4	KYRENIA	455	490	16	0	0	9	7
5	KARPASIA	685	463	22	0	0	3	19
6	MESAORIA	1840	381	53	4	6	41	2
7	S.E. MESAORIA	546	341	4	0	1	0	3
8	LARNAKA	1050	439	39	4	18	10	7
9	LIMASSOL	1155	555	96	11	64	9	12
Total		9249		508	37	152	141	178
Island-wide average			478

Region		Ground Water Recharge (Mm³)			Use by (Mm³)		Deficit
No.	Name	Streams	Direct	Total	Pumping	to Sea
1	Pafos	20	46	66	18	47	0
2	Tylliria	7	23	30	11	20	0
3	Morfou	42	30	72	89	11	29
4	Kyrenia	9	19	28	11	17	0
5	Karpasia	3	26	29	2	27	0
6	Mesaoria	41	47	88	28	60	0
7	S.E. Mesaoria	0	11	11	35	1	25
8	Larnaka	10	34	44	14	31	0
9	Limassol	9	37	47	35	15	3
Total		141	273	415	243	229	57

Water Quality

Quality of surface water	Water quality is generally good for domestic and irrigation uses. However, insecticide residues and high nitrate concentrations have recently been observed in dams, especially where there is intensive agriculture in the upstream parts of the watersheds.
Quality of groundwater	Groundwater quality is generally good for domestic and irrigation uses. However, a rising trend of insecticide residues and high nitrate concentrations has been observed in the last few years in groundwater, especially where there is intensive agriculture and where the natural replenishment from surface streams has been cut off by surface reservoirs. In the same areas increased irrigation with available surface water has increased fertilizer leaching and insecticide input to the groundwater.
Quality of coastal water	Water salinity is also increasing in coastal areas due to sea intrusion in aquifers caused by over-pumping. All the major aquifers in the island exhibit seawater intrusion of various extents. In at least three of them the inland propagation is of the order of 2 km rendering the most productive part useless.

Fig 3. The aquifers of Cyprus (after A. Georgiou (WDD, 2001))

Water Supply

The annual water demand for the government controlled part of the island is evaluated to be 266 million cubic meters of which 195 million cubic meters or 73% are for irrigation and 71 million cubic meters or 27% are for the domestic supply. Presently the contribution of the various water sources to the overall demand for all sectors is as follows:

- Groundwater 48%

- Surface water 38%

- Desalination 13%

- Springs 1%

The use of treated sewage effluent is limited at present, amounting to 1% of the agricultural demand.

Percentage of supply coming from:

Groundwater	The annual groundwater extraction is estimated to be 127 million cubic meters or 48% of the total supply. Of this quantity about 100 million cubic meters are used for agriculture, 16 for domestic supply, 3.5 for industry and 7.5 million cubic meters for the environment. Water from springs mounting to 3.5 million cubic meters per year is used for the domestic water supply mainly of villages in the mountainous part of the island. It should be noted that the quoted groundwater extraction is in most areas exceeding the safe yield of the aquifers. As a result of this the original yield of the wells in many areas has diminished whilst elsewhere sea intrusion has been observed extending occasionally up to 2 or more kilometers inland.
Surface water	The average annual yield of the 274 million cubic meter capacity main surface reservoirs is about 101 million cubic meters or 38% of the total supply. Of this yield some 82 million cubic meters are used for irrigation, 14.5 million cubic meters for domestic supply and 4.5 are used for ecological purposes. This does not include use of surface water for the spate irrigation of cereals, olive and almond trees in early spring on the occasion of flow availability.
Desalination	Two Desalination Plants using seawater and the reverse osmosis method provide an annual supply of 30 million cubic meters for domestic purposes. The two plants with their nominal capacity are at Dhekelia (40000m³/d) and at Larnaka airport (52000 m³/d). Plans are under way for another plant at Limassol with a capacity of 20000 m³/d to start operation by 2004 and with a possible extension of capacity to 40000 m³/d.
Re-use of tertiary treated effluent	Two sewage schemes at Limassol (since 1995) and Larnaka (since 1997) provide annually, at present, some 4 million cubic meters of tertiary treated effluent for the irrigation of fodder, trees and parks. Sewage treatment plants are now under design or construction in all the major cities and sensitive mountain villages, especially those of equivalent population of 2000 or more, of Cyprus. All municipal sewage treatment plants have provisions for tertiary treatment in order to re-use the effluent. The schemes currently being implemented at Paphos, and at Paralimni- Agia Napa area together with the planned extension of the Greater Nicosia scheme and the built up of the existing schemes are expected to increase the reused quantity of treated effluent to 13 Mm³ by the year 2005 rising to 25 Mm³by the year 2020. The following figures and pie charts (Savvides, FAO Project 2002) illustrate the allocation of demand and source of supply, by sector.

The permanent crops consume 59% of the total agricultural irrigation water demand, whereas vegetables consume 41%.

In years of low rainfall and limited water supply the vegetable area is reduced and priority of water demand satisfaction is given to the permanent crops.

The 67.5 Million m³ of Domestic Water Demand (inhabitants and tourism) is distributed as follows:

Ø Main cities and suburbs: 78%

Ø Villages and British Bases 22%

The contribution of each source to the total domestic demand is as follows:

Ø 75% of the total domestic water demand is covered by the Treatment Plants and Desalination Units

Ø 20% is covered from groundwater through boreholes

Ø 5% is covered by springs

Water Storage features

Since 1960, attention was turned to the systematic study and construction of water development works, both for storage and recharge purposes. After a comprehensive survey of the island’s water resources a long-term plan for the construction of major development projects was followed, which involved the construction of a large number of dams. The current total storage capacity of surface reservoirs has reached 307,5 Mm³ of water from a mere 6 Mm³ in 1960, and will reach 325.5 by 2004 with the completion of the Kannaviou dam, a truly impressive achievement when compared to other countries of the same size and level of development as Cyprus. In Cyprus there are today 106 dams and ponds: 35 large dams with a capacity of 286,1 Mm³ of water of which 4 are recharging-flood protection dams, 42 small dams with a capacity of 16,1 Mm³ of which 32 are recharging-flood protection dams, and 26 ponds with a capacity of 2,5 Mm³. Eighty-one (81%) of the dams, i.e., 85 in number are earth fill or rock fill dams and the remaining 19% i.e., 20 in number are concrete dams.

Problems:

Water Shortage

During the dry years 1997 – 2000 there was a severe shortage in the supply of water to all sectors, due to consecutive low rainfall. The available water in the major dams had reached critical low levels and priority was given for the domestic needs. In all sectors the water was rationalized and the shortage was (Savvides, FAO, 2002):

Ø 23.4% in the domestic sector

Ø 37.6% in the agricultural sector (average)

Ø 45.6% within the Government projects

Ø 20% for Agriculture outside Government Irrigation Schemes (assumed)

Due to the limited availability of water resources, priority was given to cover the domestic needs and in agriculture priority to permanent crops, covering only portion of their water demand.

The water allocated to farmers was in the range of 30% to 70% of the normal demand, depending on the type of crop and the availability of water in each project. In some projects the vegetable area was significantly reduced, in order to save water and cover part of the needs of the permanent crops.

Environmental issues

Water protection is highly ranked in Cyprus’ environmental policy, since water is a particularly precious resource in the island.

National water policy focuses on the provision of adequate supplies of water for drinking and residential use, including the tourism and the industry sectors, as well as for the development of agriculture. In drought seasons, priority is given to the supply of drinking water, with restrictions in the supply of water for irrigation purposes.

The protection of waters from pollution is based on the legislation (Law for Water Pollution Control), which was introduced in 1991 as part of the broader environmental legislation of the island.

The recently introduced legislation for the protection of water, in line with the European Legislation, introduces for all water resources the general requirement for ecological protection aiming at “good ecological status”.

Urban waste water

An adequate number of central sewage systems exist covering the urban areas of the island. Nicosia has a fully operating central sewage system, whilst the design of the Greater Nicosia central sewage system is under development. The coastal towns of Limassol and Larnaca have their own central sewage systems and tertiary level treatment plants for some years now. Similar systems are under construction for the rest coastal urban areas of Pafos, Ayia Napa and Paralimni. In addition there exist a big number, of the order of 400, of private biological treatment plants installed in hotels and other tourist facilities.

Moreover a number of central sewerage systems have been constructed covering some of the rural areas, whilst there is under implementation a big program for the collection and treatment of rural wastewaters covering the whole island.

The high quality treated effluents of the central treatment plants are utilized for irrigation and for aquifer recharging, under the provisions of a Code of Contact for Good Agricultural Practices and of Quality Standards for the re-use of treated effluent.

Groundwater

The Water Pollution Control Law (and a Decree issued under this law) regulates the quality of groundwater. A list of substances has been legislated whose direct and indirect discharge into groundwater is prohibited. Groundwater quality is monitored on a regular basis including the preparation of hydrochemical charts.

Groundwater quality is generally good for domestic and irrigation uses. However, insecticide residues and high nitrate concentrations have recently been observed in groundwater, especially where there is intensive agriculture and where the natural replenishment from surface streams has been cut off by surface reservoirs. In the same areas increased irrigation with available surface water has increased fertilizer leaching and insecticide input to the groundwater. On-going farmer training programmes, phytosanitary controls, and chemical analysis programmes for pesticides residues, etc. are the actions adopted to control the use of fertilizers and plant protection products.

Surface waters

Two are the problems of concern related to the surface waters environmental conditions: the discharges of dangerous substances, and nitrate pollution from agricultural sources.

Discharges of dangerous substances

The discharges of dangerous substances into surface waters are regulated by a Decree issued in 1993, which prohibits the direct discharges, and makes indirect discharges subject to a permit based on criteria such as effluent characteristics (quality standards, quantity), disposal characteristics (place and method of disposal), monitoring specifications, etc.

Two central industrial effluent and domestic septage treatment plants are in operation, one in Nicosia and the other in Limassol.

Nitrate pollution from agricultural sources

Water quality is generally good for domestic and irrigation uses. However, insecticide residues and high nitrate concentrations have recently been observed in dams, especially where there is intensive agriculture in the upstream parts of the watersheds.

A monitoring programme of the quality of waters in reservoirs (covering 226 chemical, microbiological and toxicological parameters) was completed in 2000. There is also in place a monitoring programme for surface waters (and groundwater) near the industrial areas of the island.

The provisions of the Code of Good Agricultural Practice are applied through the island, i.e. control of fertilizer use, use of improved irrigation systems and preparation of irrigation schedules, relocation (wherever is possible) of animal husbandry units, slurry collection, mechanical separation and land application of piggery waste, on-going farmer training programmes, etc.

Water laws and Regulations

There is currently no umbrella law covering water, however, all surface water, groundwater and wastewater belongs to the government, which has the power to construct waterworks and undertake their management. Legislation on water has evolved on an ad hoc basis. The result is that present statutory water laws are numerous, complex, duplicatory, with divided authority and recognition of private rights. Primary responsibility for enforcing these laws is divided between the two Ministries of Agriculture and the Interior. There are seven important water laws in force as well as another 15 that include provisions related to water.

These laws form the basis of resource development, interaction between the government and users, and establishment of local water bodies. The legislation covering groundwater abstraction is particularly deficient in light of significant degradation of several aquifers. Private individuals have the right to apply for permits to sink boreholes or dig wells. Several surface and groundwater sources may constitute private property in the form of registered water rights. Still the government has the power to declare some groundwater aquifers to be under “Special Measures” and impose restrictions on borehole drilling and water abstraction.

Illegal drilling of wells has been quite common and in one particular area up to 47 percent of the wells was drilled without a permit. The responsibility for monitoring compliance and dealing with illegal well drilling lies with the District Officer of the Ministry of Interior. In practice, monitoring of compliance is also executed by the WDD who must refer such cases to the DO to take action and bring to court such illegal actions.

Illegal drilling occurs mainly because farmers need to improve their economic situation. Illegal drilling not only continued but increased because of the limited supervision and control, the light penalties imposed, the possibility of each case being reconsidered, the issuing of a covering permit after discovery and interference in the process by non-technical lobbies. Added to this, the leniency in the case of farmers based on their social and economic situation plays an important role.

The protection of the environment and of the water quality has been encoded in the Control of Water Pollution Law 69 of 1991. This law provides for the elimination or reduction and control of water pollution, for the improved protection of water resources, the health of the population and the protection and improvement of the environment and water’s flora and fauna.

Institutional framework and constraints

The Chart below shows the structure of the water management institutions. The Council of Ministers is responsible for water policy and which is formed jointly by four ministries - Agriculture, Finance, Interior and Commerce. Executive power is divided between the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural resources and Environment (MANR&E) and the Ministry of Interior. MANR&E has technical responsibility for water resources policy, assessment and monitoring, but also for development and bulk selling water to end-users. The Ministry of Interior is responsible for enforcing water-related laws that include issuing groundwater permits. Its representatives act as the chairmen of municipal water boards, village water commissions and local irrigation associations, known as Irrigation Divisions (ID).

The Water Development Department (WDD) is responsible for implementing MANR&E’s water policy to have rational development and management of water. The WDD collects, processes, classifies and archives data. The information includes hydrological, hydrogeological, geotechnical and other data necessary for the study, maintenance and safety of water development works. The WDD plans, designs, constructs, operates and maintains water works. It also monitors and protects water resources from pollution. Major studies and construction works are often subcontracted to private firms.

At the regional level, the District Administration (DA) under the Ministry of Interior plays a key role. The DA. is responsible for implementing and enforcing water-related laws including the issue of groundwater permits. The District Officers (DO) are chairmen of District Water Boards, Irrigation Divisions, Municipal Water Boards and Village Water Commissions. Thus, all municipal water supplies and non-government irrigation schemes are in principle under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior.

Other government departments as shown on the Chart, are also involved at various aspects of the water industry of the island.

At the end-user level, a number of local institutions are responsible for water administration at the local level. The Municipal Water Boards and Village Commissions deal with domestic supply; the Irrigation Divisions, Irrigation Associations, Waterworks Committees and WDD deal with irrigation, and the Sewage Boards deal with wastewater collection and treatment. All these organizations, except the WDD come under the Ministry of Interior’s jurisdiction. At the user level, farmers have the right to form Irrigation Divisions and Associations to construct and manage irrigation schemes. An Irrigation Division is formed by landowners for sharing water whilst water-right owners form an Irrigation Association. Villages also have the right to establish their own commissions to develop domestic supplies from local resources.

Any group of 10 or more landowners can form themselves into an Irrigation Division, (under the Irrigation Divisions (Villages Law, Cap 342), in order to share amongst themselves in an agreed fashion the resources and costs of a supply of water (well, borehole, surface reservoir, major government reservoir etc.). The District Officer chairs the committee and the Village Chairman is an ex officio member. There can be several Irrigation Divisions in a village area. The committee balances its own finances and recovers its costs from the Division members. New Irrigation Divisions are set up as the Water Development Department implements new water schemes.

The Town Water Boards distribute water to the domestic and industrial consumers within a town. These are set up under the Water Supply (Municipal and Other Areas) Law, Cap 350, 1951. These derive their bulk supplies partly from boreholes and partly from bulk supplies of treated water delivered to storage reservoirs by the Water Development Department’s trunk main system. Their governing Boards consist of three members nominated by the Government (the District Officer as chairman, the Accountant General and the Director of WDD) and up to three members from each of the municipal areas supplied by the Board. Many Municipalities (Paphos for example) operate their own water undertaking on the basis of own sources or from bulk supplies from the WDD, through a committee made up from the council.

Under the Water (Domestic Purposes) Villages Supplies Law, Cap 349, each village or part or a group of villages establish a Village Water Committee chaired by the village chairman. This Committee manages its own water undertaking on the basis of a spring(s), borehole(s) and some by direct supply with bulk supplies from WDD. Individuals may drill a borehole or well on his or someone else’s land (with their consent) and use such water for irrigation, domestic, industrial and housing development supplies under the Wells Law, Cap 351. A permit for the drilling as well as a license for the use of the water are required.

Problems of present water management set up and plans for change

Inter-agency co-operation in managing water is as good as can be expected given the various approaches and goals set by each participating agency. Fragmentation of responsibility has caused many problems in all sectors. Since the WDD is responsible at the executive level for water management, the technical situation is very good. However, effective decision-making, implementation of works and enforcement is made difficult because legal and management responsibilities rest with the District Officers. These difficulties lead to considerable delays in project authorization, implementation and overall water management.

Through various laws the District Officer is the controlling authority at the user level. The WDD and the Department of Agriculture assist the District Officer in an advisory capacity on technical matters. This is not a satisfactory arrangement because there is no single agency responsible. When there is a conflict of interest and purpose, the technical departments are unable to implement agricultural policy even though it should be a major criterion in irrigation works and domestic water supply allocation

The District Officer for example is the authority by Law issuing drilling and water use permits. Usually but not always, the advice of the Water Development Department is requested. This has repercussions both on the management of the aquifers but also on the agricultural activity. The District Officer (Ministry of Interior) is the chairman of the Irrigation Divisions and the Town Water Boards whilst the Water Development Department representative participates in an advisory role. Although, there is generally good cooperation amongst the District Officer and the technical Departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, on many occasions conflict of interest does not allow clear policies to be followed which, in turn, may not lead to sustainable management of scarce water resources.

It is broadly recognized that this dual responsibility, especially at user level where the WDD is only an advisor, has many disadvantages. Currently there is a decision by Government to bring this responsibility for water under a single ministry. The Government, in 1997, appointed the WDD as the single Water Entity responsible for water while continuing to operate as a government department. The Water Entity is responsible for the following activities: issuing drilling permits; groundwater use and abstraction from all sources by any organized entities; monitoring, control, collection and treatment of wastewater from rural, industrial and livestock areas. The legal, financial, technical and administrative details to implement this decision have been completed. The draft law and regulations that modernizes the water management in full harmony with the European Union Water Framework Directive has been submitted to the House of Representatives and discussions are expected to be initiated on May 2002.

Management, Institutional and policy options

The initial water policy

Water resource development in Cyprus initially focused on groundwater, because of the high cost of surface water development. However, depletion of key aquifers, together with rising overall demand necessitated a revision of this strategy. With independence in 1960, the slogan, “not a drop of water to the sea”, determined the water policy of the Government of the new Republic of Cyprus and all subsequent governments. Though this policy is still prevalent, water management approaches now are only storing amounts of water that do not affect the recharge of aquifers downstream of the dams, and that prevent saline intrusion in the coastal aquifers.

In the 1960s the island’s water resources were comprehensively surveyed under the “Cyprus Water Planning Project” with the FAO’s assistance. This survey paved the way for implementation of five major development projects based on the conjunctive use of surface and groundwater).These projects, comprising ten dams and using a number of local aquifers, provided 170 Mm³ of water. The water would be used to irrigate 21 000 ha and provide domestic water to the major cities and surrounding towns and villages. To date, only 70 Mm³ have been taken up by the farmers. Present storage capacity in Cyprus is 300 Mm³ having increased from 5 Mm³ in 1960. The Government also worked on schemes toward the replenishment and protection of groundwater resources and to provide piped water to all towns and villages for domestic and industrial uses.

The present water policy

The basic objectives of Cyprus’s present water policy are:

Ø To secure a sustainable balance between supply and demand at the least possible cost.

Ø To keep in check increasing demands for water by appropriate pricing mechanisms and information being passed onto the end users.

Ø To apply irrigation water in line with the actual crops water requirements.

Ø To modify, as much as possible, cropping patterns in favour of crops with lower water requirements or annual winter grown crops.

Ø To reduce losses from the urban water distribution systems and to increase the efficiency of domestic water use.

Ø To emphasize high value crops.

The current Development Plan of the Island for 1999 to 2003 has on the water policy the following basic objectives:

Ø To complete the construction of major and secondary water works as per the development program. In particular, the works for the combined domestic water supply delivery to the Nicosia area and irrigation on the Tylliria rivers in the northern part of the Troodos mountains yielding a total yield of 18 Mm³ The remaining water development projects are limited and therefore are not expected to augment the water supply substantially;

Ø To improve the operation, maintenance and control of the water works to ensure optimal exploitation of existing works;

Ø To monitor international technological developments regarding desalinating brackish and seawater. With specific regard to how to apply such methods, reuse treated effluent sewage and suppress evaporation from reservoirs;

Ø To improve the domestic supply of urban and rural areas with a view to securing at least 180 litres per capita per day and 135 litres per capita per day respectively. In particular to use non-conventional sources to ensure a permanent supply of water and remove the dependency on the weather conditions;

Ø To promote demand management through technical and pricing mechanisms.

Ø To promote an institutional reorganization to allow effective management of water resources, through the establishment of a single Water Entity;

Ø To protect water resources (surface and groundwater) from pollution, irrational use and sea intrusion;

Ø To harmonize as much as possible Cyprus’s water policy with the European Union’s policy.

Conclusions

In summary the following may be concluded in regard to the range of circumstances, the regional analysis and the main issues, problems and constraints that are pertinent to water resources and their management in the island.

Ø Cyprus is an arid to semi arid island state and its renewable freshwater resources are highly constrained. Although a large number of various water supply investments and interventions have been made, Cyprus is still a long way from reconciling the demand to the availability of water.

Ø The uneven spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall and thus water resources cause the need for the implementation of expensive water development works and inter-basin transfers of water.

Ø Some 60 per cent of the Island is arable of which 85 per cent is cultivated. Agriculture is by far the main user of water, some 70% of the total water demand, and this will remain so.

Ø There is a pronounced seasonality of demand peaking in the summer period due to increased irrigation requirements and influx of tourists. Certain choice tourist destination areas experience considerable stress in meeting the water demand. Tourism affects the demand for water and sewerage infrastructure. Ninety-three percent of beds are concentrated along the coast. Tourist water demand accounts for 21% of total domestic, municipal and industrial water demand.

Ø No significant expansion of irrigation water demand is envisaged in the private or communal sector. Changes however, are expected in all areas with the reduction of low or non-profitable lemon, citrus plantations and table-grapes and their substitution by others. It should be noted that, currently, in Cyprus, the limitation for expanding irrigation is not only water, but also the limited manpower which turns to the expanding tourism industry, services, industries and trade which attract a great number of farmers and villagers to the towns and tourist areas where conditions of life and remuneration are much better.

Ø The water development in the island is approaching limiting situations since most of the economic sites for surface water dams have been used up and additional reservoirs have prohibitively high costs to develop.

Ø Only improved water management and redistribution to water conserving uses could provide additional water resources. In addition to this, already Cyprus has turned to non-conventional water such as desalination and reuse of tertiary treated effluent to augment its available supplies.

Ø The current water policy focuses on water resource management rather than on further water infrastructure development.

Ø As a result of a prolonged dry period (1990 to present) but also because of insufficient control and effective economic incentives, all the aquifers of the island have been overexploited with the result of serious drop of water levels, sea intrusion to various extent, diminishing of reserves and reduction of the yield of wells. The large surface reservoir construction program has added to the problem since the natural recharge to the coastal aquifers has been reduced without an equal reduction of pumping.

Ø Environmental concerns are increasing because of the intensity of water utilization coupled with the scarcity of water resources in the recent years. These are further escalating due to the influx of tourism in choice areas and the general growth of economic activities. Water quality though, of both surface and groundwater, is generally good for domestic and irrigation uses. However, insecticide residues and high nitrate concentrations have recently been observed in dams and aquifers, especially where there is intensive agriculture.

Ø The Institutional set up as now existing is a rather complex and bureaucratic system made up of at least four involved Ministries on the policy level, 15 Government Departments on the executive level, and a great number of Organisations on the Water Users level either for domestic water supplies or irrigation. New legislation for the protection of water and a new proposed law for water resources management under one Entity together with the implementation of the EU Water Framework directive give a new impetus to the local efforts for water management.

Ø Water laws are many and complex, including duplications. These have been enacted from time to time in the past as needs demanded, so as to cover the requirements of various water-related interests and authorities, without ever making an effort to group them together in an organized form or code. The recent law on the protection of water from pollution and the bill for the establishment of a water entity will modernize the approach to water resources management.

Ø The water policy is being conformed gradually to as much as possible, with that of the European Union, taking into account the conditions prevailing in the island. A great effort is currently being made to respond to the demanding provisions of the Water Framework Directive and other EU legislation and operational guidelines.

Selection of representative regions

Water scarcity or deficiency may result from a range of phenomena. This may be produced by natural causes, such as aridity or drought or water shortage may be induced by human activities, or may result from an interaction of both.

Aridity is a nature produced permanent imbalance in the water availability consisting in low average annual precipitation, with high spatial and temporal variability, resulting in overall low moisture and low carrying capacity of the ecosystems.

Drought is also a nature produced imbalance of water availability but temporary, consisting of a persistent lower-than-average precipitation, of uncertain frequency, duration and severity, of unpredictable or difficult to predict occurrence, resulting in diminished water resources availability, and reduced carrying capacity of the ecosystems.

Water shortage is also a man-induced but temporary water imbalance which may result from general excessive exploitation of available resources such as withdrawals exceeding groundwater recharge, or use of surface reservoirs that are of inadequate capacity and land use change which revises the local ecosystem and alters the infiltration and runoff characteristics. Degraded water quality is often associated with water shortages and exacerbates the effects of water scarcity. It is important to recognise that water scarcity can result from human activity as well, either by over-use of the natural supply or by degradation of the water quality. This man-induced water scarcity is common in semi-arid and sub-humid regions where population and economic forces may make large demands on the local water resource, and where insufficient care is taken to protect the quality of the precious resource.

The selection of the three candidate regions was made based on the basis of water scarcity/ shortage or deficiency and aridity of the area, as mentioned above, but also on its social and economic characteristics and the complexity of the water system. Each one of these three regions suffers water deficits for a different reason, which makes them good candidates for study. These are:

The Akrotiri aquifer area

This was the most dynamic aquifer in the island with the annual recharge being about 32 Mm³ and the extraction amounting to 10 to 15 Mm³. The balance was being lost to the sea and the nearby Salt Lake through the subsurface. The completion of the Kouris dam of 115 Mm³ capacity, in 1987 changed the hydrologic regime and cut off the main source of replenishment through infiltration within the Kouris riverbed. Presently the estimated annual recharge from local rainfall and return flow from irrigation is of the order of 6 to 8 Mm³ while the extraction remains near the pre dam-construction levels. A major part of the balancing replenishment is made up by artificial groundwater recharge through releases from surface reservoirs into ponds and the dry streambed.

The groundwater levels are presently below mean sea level throughout most of the area of the aquifer. Sea intrusion has propagated up to 2 km and an important part of the aquifer has been rendered useless. The reduction of replenishment (leaching effect) and the increased agricultural activity using surface water from the Kouris dam has caused a trend of nitrate and other elements built up in the groundwater. The drop of the groundwater levels also affects the Salt Lake and marshland in the southern part of this area, which is of unique environmental importance. At the eastern fringe of the area lies Limassol the second largest city in Cyprus with a population of 100 000.

Until recently a large part of the domestic water supply of this city relied upon groundwater from this aquifer. At present, a number of communities as well as the British Bases still pump groundwater for their needs. The local demand for the irrigation of the citrus orchards and seasonal crops relies on surface water from Kouris dam, Polemidhia dam and Germasogeia dam, local groundwater, groundwater from within the Limassol city (high in nitrates) and tertiary treated effluent from the Limassol sewage treatment plant. Currently a sea water desalination plant is planned to start operating by 2004 and a major artificial recharge project using the tertiary treated effluent (up to 6 Mm3) is being set up through recharge ponds and re-pumping for irrigation purposes.

The aquifer has excellent information for more than 30 years. It has quite a complicated water resources management system and serious management problems to address such as environmental, quality, quantity, social and economic. This area has permanent water shortage problems and it presents a unique situation for integrated management application.

The Germasogeia aquifer

The Germasogeia catchment is in the southern coast of Cyprus. It is about 141 square kilometres up to the Germasogeia dam, which is of 13.1 million cubic meters capacity. The average annual runoff is about 20 million cubic meters. A major part of the catchment is covered by natural forest but considerable agricultural activity is present in riparian land.

Downstream the dam a riverbed aquifer develops. This aquifer that is 5 km east of Limassol town has a length of 5.5 km and an average width of about 350 m. with an active storage of fresh water of the order of 3.5 Mm3 increasing to 5.0 Mm3 at high water table.

This small aquifer has been relied upon to meet the major portion of the increasing demand for the water supply of the town of Limassol and the neighbouring villages that have high seasonal water demand due to tourism.

The complete cut-off of the natural replenishment by the construction of the dam and the proximity to the sea, coupled with the increasing extraction from the aquifer, requires a coordinated programme of releases from the dam for artificial recharge to cope with the extraction. With such action the sea intrusion is controlled and at the same time an efficient use of the scarce water resources is made.

The catchment area has extensive hydro-meteorological, geological and hydrogeological data as well sufficient surface and groundwater quality data. It constitutes an excellent case study for conjunctive use of surface and groundwater and for evaluating drought conditions and their repercussion to the hydrologic regime and the socio-economic environment of the area.

The Kokkinochoria aquifer

The Kokkinochoria area is in the South-eastern part of the island, the coastal area of which has developed to an important tourist location. It is one of the most dynamic agricultural regions in the country with high-income farmers. The aquifer is made up of Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene sediments gravel, sand, silts and calcareous matrix and blocks of reef limestone. It has an areal extent of 170 km². The replenishment of about 12-14 Mm³ per year was exceeded for many years by an annual extraction of 25 Mm³. The aquifer after 35 years of extensive development and mining presently holds some 10 to 15 % of its original reserves. This has resulted to excessive drawdown of the water levels, reduction in yield per well and sea intrusion.

At present, some 2500 boreholes are in operation irrigating about 6000 hectares of mainly seasonal crops, potatoes being the main crop with an estimated annual extraction of 10 Mm³. The yield of these boreholes being very low at present, 1 to 7 m³/h, is supplemented by surface water imported to the area by the Southern Conveyor project. Under normal years some 17 Mm3 per year are envisaged to be transferred in the area from the Kouris dam, some 70 km to the west. In the last 10 years though due to a prolonged drought the quantity of water imported to the area annually has been less than 5 Mm³.

With a drop of the water-table averaging to 1.5 m/y for the last 30 years, the water-table in many areas especially near the coast is located down to 40-50 m below mean sea level. The thickest and most productive part of the aquifer, being within 3 km from the coast has practically been sea-intruded and rendered useless.

The water deficiency problems of this area need to be addressed and alternative sources of supply, water demand management practices, change of cropping pattern and other similar issues need to be considered.

The Akrotiri area

The Akrotiri area covers the Akrotiri peninsula and it is the southernmost part of the island (see Map 3.1) .It covers an area of 142 sq. km. Its eastern part is taken over by the urban area of Limassol with some 125000 inhabitants. There are 10 other village communities with a total population of 16000 within the same area that basically may be considered as suburbs to Limassol with their inhabitants commuting to the city and also working as farmers within the general area.

At the southern tip of the peninsula there is a major British military base with an airfield and an estimated force of the order of 15000 soldiers with their families. This is separated from the agricultural land and aquifer further to the north, by a Salt Lake and marshland that is of unique environmental importance.

The aquifer, the third largest in the island, essentially is a gently dipping coastal deltaic alluvial aquifer of a 40-km2 extent. Its western half coincides with the alluvial fan deposits of the Kouris River that drains a catchment of 338 sq. km., whilst the Garyllis River draining a watershed of 100 sq.km takes up the eastern half. Groundwater is pumped through some 500 wells and boreholes mainly for irrigation (9 to 12 Mm3/y) and for domestic purposes (1.5 to 3 Mm3/y). About 90% of the annual extraction is metered and recorded at monthly intervals. Pumping permits are issued annually on the basis of the current groundwater conditions and the water content in the surface reservoirs.

The main source of the natural recharge of the aquifer, after the construction of Polemidia dam in 1965 on Garyllis river and the construction of the Kouris dam in 1987 on Kouris river changed dramatically. It now depends entirely on local rainfall of about 380 to 430 mm, return flow from imported water for irrigation and on artificial groundwater recharge.

Sea intrusion was originally confined at the eastern part but more recently, and after the construction of the Kouris dam of 115 Mm3, a large part of the Kouris delta area has also been sea-intruded. Ongoing artificial groundwater recharge with water from the surface reservoirs, and planned with treated effluent, together with further control of pumping is expected to reverse the situation. Furthermore, with the reduction of the flashing effect of the annual recharge together with the increased agricultural activity, a gradual built up of nitrate and other elements has been noted in the groundwater of the area.

Presently the irrigation requirements of the area are met by local groundwater, tertiary treated effluent, surface water from the Kouris, Germasogeia and Polemidhia dams and from reclaimed groundwater pumped from within the Limassol urban area. The area irrigated at present is 2200 ha with a demand of 15 Mm3, out of a planned area of 3775 ha. The Limassol domestic supply is mainly provided from the Kouris dam and partly from groundwater from the Germasogeia aquifer.

A major desalination plant of 20000-m3/d capacity is planned for commissioning by 2004 to be built at the western part of the area.

The aquifer is very well controlled. The groundwater levels are observed monthly from a network of 150 since 1960, 85 to 100 of which are regularly sampled. The groundwater pumping is quite well monitored through water meters that are observed every month. The area is well surveyed and studied. A good database exists and numerous studies have been performed including groundwater modeling.

Low rainfall and reduction of the surface reservoir water content resulted to diminished recharge, both natural and artificial, of the aquifer. This together with the continued extraction pattern of pre-dam construction has caused a serious drop of the groundwater levels (Fig. 3.1 and Map 3.2) and sea intrusion (Map 3.3).

Map 3.1: Akrotiri Aquifer showing inhabited areas and well observation network

The intensive use of fertilizers in agriculture together with the reduction of the flashing effect by natural recharge resulted to a nitrate built-up in the aquifer. The concentration of nitrate ion in the eastern part of the aquifer is in excess of 200 mg/l.

At the same time the diminished flows of Kouris River and the drop of groundwater levels are threatening the ecosystem of the marshlands and of the Salt Lake. Urbanization at the eastern and northern parts of the aquifer and increased storm runoff from these areas presents also a problem to the Salt Lake being the lowland and the natural receiving area.

Figure 3.1: Hydrograph of borehole Akrotiri 775 (Elev. 15.63 m amsl)

Map 3.2: Akrotiri Aquifer - Water Level (m amsl) Contour Map March 2001

Anthropogenic intervention has changed dramatically the hydrologic regime in the area especially after the construction of the Kouris dam. The average water balance over the period of 1967/68 – 1976/77 compared to present conditions is shown on the Table below (All in Mm³/yr):

RECHARGE

Kouris dam was constructed in 1987

Rainfall

Riverbed Recharge

Subsurface Inflow

Sea intrusion

Return from irrigation

Return imported / Diversions

Artificial Recharge

Total

Remarks

Before (1968-1978)

5.9

15.4

4.2

0.7

4.5

3.5

34.2

Average rainfall 395 mm

At present

4.2

0.5

0.2

3.0

1.1

0.7

3.3

13.0

Average rainfall 380 mm

OUTFLOW		Abstraction for irrigation and domestic	Evapotranspiration	Rising water	Sea/Lake Outflow	Total	Remarks
	Before (1968-1978)	14.5	2.5	2.2	16.0	35.2
	At present	10.8	2.4	0.3	0.5	14.0

From the balance above one should note the very small quantity of groundwater that outflows from the system at present and which does not provide the required leaching effect, the reduction of rising water that affects the marshland, and the increase in sea intrusion quantities which although they are considered as part of the “recharge”, the resulting true balance is in effect negative and of the order of 4 Mm³ per year.

Map 3.3: Akrotiri Aquifer - Isochloride (ppm) Contour Map April 2001

Table 3.1 : Akrotiri Area Matrix

Natural conditions and infrastructure	*Regional* *Context*	Climate Type	Csa-Mediterranean
		Aridity Index	Semi-arid (0.330)
		Permanent Population	156000
	*Water* *availability*	Total Water Resources /Availability	30 Mm3
	*Water* *availability*	Trans-boundary water	-
	*Water* *quality*	Quality of surface water	Very Good
		Quality of groundwater	Fair - Poor
		Quality of coastal water	Good
	*Water Supply*	Percentage of supply coming from: Groundwater Surface water Desalination, Recycling Importing
			33%
			62%
			5%

		Network coverage: Domestic Irrigation Sewerage
			100%
			>85%
			Apx. 75%
Economic and Social issues	*Water use*	Water consumption by category: Domestic Tourism Irrigation Industrial and energy production
			30%
			10%
			60%

		Resources to population index	192 m³/c
	*Water* *demand*	Water Demand trends	Increasing
		Consumption index	100% Increasing
		Exploitation index	100% Increasing
	*Pricing* *system*	Average household budget for domestic water	€ 99.2/yr *
		Average household budget for agricultural water	€0.11/m³depends on land
		Average household income	€24207urban* €18488 rural*
		Cost recovery	Dom €0.58/m³ Full Financial Irr €0.11 O&M
		Price elasticity	Very small
	*Social* *Capacity building*	Public participation in decisions	Fair
	*Social* *Capacity building*	Public education on water conservation issues	Fair
Decision Making Process	*Water* *Resources* *Management*	Water ownership	State- (partly private)
		Decision making level (municipal, regional, national) regarding: Water supply for each sector	National
		Water resources allocation for each sector	National
	*Water Policy*	Local economy basis	Agri/tertiary
	*Water Policy*	Development priorities	Agri/tourism

Aridity = 407/(4.5x365x.0.75) .. 1961-1990

* Family Budget Survey 1996/97 Statistical Service of Republic of Cyprus

Germasogeia Area

The Germasogeia catchment is in the southern coast of Cyprus. It is about 141 square kilometres up to the Germasogeia dam of 13.1 million cubic meters capacity. Its average annual flow is about 20 million cubic meters. A major part of the catchment is covered by natural forest but considerable agricultural activity is present in riparian land. The annual and seasonal crops irrigated from the various sources of water are shown on the Table that follows.

Germasogeia Watershed (in relation to Dam)	ANNUALLY AND SEASONALLY IRRIGATED CROPS (in hectares and Mm³)
	RIVER		SPRINGS		WELLS/BH		TOTAL
	Area	Water Use	Area	Water Use	Area	Water Use	Area	Water Use
Upstream	295	2.5	78	0.8	16	0.2	386	3.5
Downstream	304	3.0					304	3.0

There are 14 village communities within the watershed with a total permanent population of just over 10000 and water demand of 0.5 to 0.7 Mm³ per year, of which 12 villages are upstream the dam with a population of about 4000. There is considerable tourist development at the coastal area with an estimated 0.5 million-guest nights and a water demand of 0.9 Mm³ during the tourist season.

Downstream the dam a riverbed aquifer develops. This is a typical river alluvial aquifer.

This aquifer, which is 5 km east of Limassol town (Map 4.1), has a length of 5.5 km and an average width of about 350 m. This phreatic aquifer consists of sandy gravels with low silt content except towards the coast where an increase of finer material is noted. The thickness in the deepest part varies from 35 meters near the dam to 50 meters near the coast. The permeability in the upstream part of the aquifer is as high as 300 m/d reducing to 100 near the Delta. The specific yield varies from 13 to 22%. The active storage of fresh water is of the order of 3.5 MCM increasing to 5.0 MCM at high water table.

Map 4.1 Location of the Germasogeia watershed (the part downstream the dam)

The small aquifer between the surface reservoir and up to 4 km downstream, before the development of the Delta area, has been relied upon to meet the major portion of the increasing demand for the water supply of the town of Limassol and neighbouring villages with high seasonal demand due to tourism.

Since the construction of the dam in 1968 the recharge of the aquifer depends on controlled releases from the dam and its spills. During the last ten years the dam spilled only twice, in 1993 and 1995.

The complete cut-off of natural replenishment by the construction of the dam and the proximity to the sea, coupled with the increasing extraction from the aquifer, requires a coordinated programme of releases from the dam for artificial recharge to cope with the extraction. With such action the sea intrusion is controlled and at the same time an efficient use of the scarce water resources is made.

The need for controlled releases from the dam to artificially recharge this aquifer through flooding in the active channel became a necessity by 1982 due to the increasing demand for domestic supply and the rather dry conditions experienced at the time. This conjunctive use of the surface and groundwater reservoirs enabled a dramatic increase in the extraction from this aquifer deferring the need for an expensive treatment plant for many years.

The extraction was doubled due to an equivalent increase of recharge. It is important to note that with the regulated releases of water and the resulting recharge the annual extraction in many years was about three times the active storage of the riverbed aquifer.

In the early days of the recharge, large quantities were released at irregular time intervals. Gradually, the daily release quantities were being reduced and the length of the period of release was increased.

Since 1986, the release is practically continuous and at such rates that the losses to the sea through the subsurface are minimal.

The rates of release are of the order of 15 to 25 000 m³/d whilst the total groundwater inflow to the main well-field serving Limassol is in the range of 18 to 30 000 m³/hr.

Chemically the groundwater is similar to that of the water in the surface reservoir. Bacteriological analyses from all the boreholes show that the 10 to 20 meters of unsaturated thickness of alluvial sediments provides an efficient protection to bacteriological pollution.

In the Delta area and near the coast the interface has remained practically stable showing that the recharge-extraction regulation has been of the correct order without excessive pumping or serious subsurface loss of fresh water to the sea.

In effect the small Germasogeia riverbed aquifer has been turned into a natural treatment plant for domestic water supply without the need of complicated and expensive surface water treatment requiring chemicals, qualified technical and managerial personnel and the necessary civil engineering structures. Surface water from the Germasogeia and Kouris dams is being released in the riverbed since 1982 for recharge of the aquifer. Groundwater is pumped for the domestic water supply of the Limassol town, for the surrounding villages, and the tourist zone. This aquifer is the only source of domestic water supply of the local village communities and the tourist zone.

The catchment area has extensive hydrometeorological, geological and hydrogeological data as well sufficient surface and groundwater quality data. It constitutes an excellent case study for evaluating drought conditions and their repercussions on the hydrologic regime and to the socio-economic environment of the area. In the aquifer area some 46 boreholes are monitored every 15 days and conductivity logs are kept for 10 boreholes for monitoring the sea/fresh water interface. The extraction from all wells and boreholes is monitored monthly my water-meters. The releases for recharge are monitored on a daily basis. A good database and GIS as well as groundwater models exist for the area.

The Germasogeia water resources system (surface reservoir and aquifer) is the most intensively exploited one in the island. In 1996 up to 9 Mm³ of groundwater were extracted from this small aquifer, whose area is only 3 km² and its total fresh water capacity at average groundwater level conditions, is in the order of only 3.5 Mm³.

A fast growing urbanization within the aquifer area and tourist development is causing concern about the environmental impact and possible deterioration of the quality of groundwater in this highly susceptible aquifer.

The hydrogeological regime and the water balance of the aquifer are “regulated” by controlled releases from the dam into the river valley. The main targets are:

a) To cover water demand with groundwater of acceptable quality,

b) To protect the aquifer from sea intrusion,

c) To minimize groundwater losses to the sea and to

d) Maximize the water availability through conjunctive use of surface and groundwater.

Some 23 boreholes operate in the aquifer today for domestic water supply. The yields of these boreholes vary from 50 to 200 m³/hour. Annually, the average extraction is about 6 Mm³, whilst the average artificial recharge is about 5 Mm³.

The water balance of the aquifer is quite good and no problems of sea intrusion are faced provided there is ample water in the surface reservoir for recharge and the groundwater extraction is contained within the capabilities of the system.

The sustainable extraction under natural conditions i.e. with no artificial recharge of the aquifer is estimated to be of the order of 1.4 Mm³/year based mainly on the leakages from the dam.

Map 4.2 shows the location of the surface reservoir and the aquifer whilst Figure 4.1 shows a typical groundwater level fluctuation. The cycles of increased recharge or extraction are quite obvious on this hydrograph. Map 4.3 shows the groundwater contours in the area, especially as these develop around the main well-fields and near the coast.

RECHARGE

Germasogeia dam (13Mm³) was constructed in 1968

Rainfall and Return from irrigation /domestic

Riverbed Recharge

Leakage from dam

Sea intrusion

Artificial Recharge

Total

Remarks

(1982– 1987)

average rainfall 430 mm

0.4

0.5

1.8

0.0

3.6

6.3

By A. Christodoulides

(1991-2000) average rainfall 400 mm

0.5

1.0

0.1

5.1

6.7

By A. Georgiou

OUTFLOW

Abstraction for domestic

Sea Outflow

Total

Remarks

(1982– 1987)

average rainfall 430 mm

5.6

0.7

6.3

By A. Christodoulides

(1991-2000) average rainfall 400 mm

6.4

0.3

6.7

By A. Georgiou

Map 4. 2: Germasogeia Riverbed Aquifer - Location Map

Figure 4. 1 : Hydrograph of borehole Germasogeia 1077 (Elev. 4.98 m amsl)

Map 4. 3: Germasogeia Riverbed Aquifer Water Level (m amsl) Contour Map November 2001

Table 4.1 : Germasogeia Area Matrix

Natural conditions and infrastructure	*Regional* *Context*	Climate Type	Csa- Med/ean
		Aridity Index	Semi-arid (0.356)
		Permanent Population	10000
	*Water* *availability*	Total Water Resources /Availability	20/12 Mm³
	*Water* *availability*	Trans-boundary water	-
	*Water* *quality*	Quality of surface water	Very Good
		Quality of groundwater	Very Good
		Quality of coastal water	Good
	*Water Supply*	Percentage of supply coming from: Groundwater Surface water Desalination, Recycling Importing Exporting
			15%
			50%
			35%

		Network coverage: Domestic Irrigation Sewerage
			100%
			>70%
			Apx. 80%
Economic and Social issues	*Water use*	Water consumption by category: Domestic Tourism Irrigation Industrial and energy production
			0.6 Mm³
			0.9 Mm³
			6.5 Mm³

		Resources to population index	1200 m³/c
	*Water* *demand*	Water Demand trends	Increasing
		Consumption index	67% increasing
		Exploitation index	67% Increasing
	*Pricing* *system*	Average household budget for domestic water	€ 99.2/yr *
		Average household budget for agricultural water	€0.11/m³depends on land
		Average household income	€24207urban* €18488 rural*
		Cost recovery	Dom €0.58/m³ Full Financial Irr €0.11 O&M
		Price elasticity	Very small
	*Social* *Capacity building*	Public participation in decisions	Fair
	*Social* *Capacity building*	Public education on water conservation issues	Fair
Decision Making Process	*Water* *Resources* *Management*	Water ownership	State- (partly private)
		Decision making level (municipal, regional, national) regarding: Water supply for each sector	National
		Water resources allocation for each sector	National
	*Water Policy*	Local economy basis	Agri/tertiary
	*Water Policy*	Development priorities	Agri/tourism

Aridity = 478/(4.9x365x.0.75) .. 1961-1990

* Family Budget Survey 1996/97 Statistical Service of Republic of Cyprus

Kokkinochoria Region

The area includes five village communities and three municipalities with a total permanent population of 30000 and an annual water demand in excess of 1.7 Mm³. Two areas near the coast (Paralimni and Agia Napa) have developed to a very attractive tourist resort with tourists exceeding 6 million-guest nights and a water demand of about 3 Mm³.

The Kokkinochoria area being at the lee-side and far from the Troodos Mountains receives the lowest rainfall in the island, the long-term average being 330 mm per year. There is no stream crossing the area except during storm events in winter due to local storms.

The local aquifer has been overexploited since the early 1960s and the groundwater mined is in excess of 350 Mm³. At present the groundwater reserves are only 15% of the original. Water levels in the aquifer within 2 km from the coast have dropped to 50 m below mean sea level.

The region is an early-potato producing area with most of the produce being exported to the UK and elsewhere. The past agricultural activity in the area has been maintained by importing water through the Southern Conveyor Project from the Kouris Dam some 70 km to the west. A total of an annual supply of 17 Mm³ has been envisaged which together with the local safe yield of 8 Mm³ would allow the continuation of the agricultural activity in the area. This has been accomplished, although the extended drought of the last decade did not allow the transfer of the quantities envisaged. This did not have devastating repercussions since a lot of the workforce shifted in the meantime from agriculture to other employment associated with the locally thriving tourist industry. Nonetheless, both the soils and farming experience in the area is a resource that should be exploited to its maximum and the conditions need to be established in the area to allow the continuation of potato production for the benefit of the economy of the island.

There exists good hydrogeological information for the area with some 164 wells being monitored for water levels since 1964 every three months (see Map 5. 2 and Figure 5.1). Water quality surveys are carried out seasonally to check the propagation of the sea-intrusion (see map 5.3).

In the Table that follows an estimated water balance of the Kokkinochoria aquifer is presented for two periods: 1963-78 and for 1990 to present.

Map 5.1 The general area and the Kokkinochoria aquifer.

RECHARGE

Southern Conveyor Project completed in 1987

Rainfall

Subsurface Inflow

Sea intrusion

Return from irrigation

Return imported / Diversions

Total

Remarks

(aquifer area 172 sq. km)

1963-1978 (SCP study – Iacovides)

8.2

1.1

2.9

4.7

16.9

Average rainfall 330 mm

At present (FAO study – Georgiou)

0.1

5.5

0.5

1.6

15.7

Average rainfall 300 mm

OUTFLOW		Abstraction for irrigation and domestic	Sea Outflow	Total	Balance
	1963-1978 (SCP study – Iacovides)	27.1	0.4	27.5	–10.6
	At present (FAO study – Georgiou)	14.0	1.5	15.5	+ 0.2 *

*The annual balance would be – 5.3 Mm³ if the sea intrusion is considered.

The recommended annual pumping from this aquifer is only 8 Mm³.

The most productive parts of the aquifer (Ormidhia, Xylophagou, Liopetri, Phrenaros), have been sea intruded and abandoned since the early 1980s. The less productive parts are already depleted with dramatically reduced borehole yield.

It is estimated that over 5000 boreholes operate in the area today. Yields of these boreholes have reduced from an average of 10 m³/hour in 1980 to 1 to 2 m³/hour in 2000. Boreholes with yields of 2-3 m³/day are still in operation. In effect the farmers are rapidly and inexorably drying out the aquifer. A rough estimate of the average annual extraction during the past 10 years is estimated to be around 12 to 14 Mm³.

Figure 5.1: Hydrograph of boreholes Xylophagou 66 and Liopetri 469 (Elev. 52.61 and 30.74m amsl)

Map 5.2: Kokkinochoria Aquifer - Water Level (m amsl) Contour Map Sept. 2000

Map 5. 3. Kokkinochoria Aquifer Isochloride contours (ppm) for June 1994 (after Georgiou

Table5. 3 : Kokkinochoria Area Matrix

Natural conditions and infrastructure	*Regional* *Context*	Climate Type	Csa-Med/nean
		Aridity Index	Semi-arid (0.268)
		Permanent Population	30000
	*Water* *availability*	Total Water Resources /Availability	30 Mm³**
	*Water* *availability*	Trans-boundary water	-
	*Water* *quality*	Quality of surface water	Very Good
		Quality of groundwater	fair
		Quality of coastal water	Good
	*Water Supply*	Percentage of supply coming from: Groundwater Surface water Desalination, Recycling Importing
			30%
			-
			13%
			57%
		Network coverage: Domestic Irrigation Sewerage
			100%
			>85%
			Apx. 70%
Economic and Social issues	*Water use*	Water consumption by category: Domestic Tourism Irrigation Industrial and energy production
			6%
			10%
			84%

		Resources to population index	1000 Mm³/c **
	*Water* *demand*	Water Demand trends	Increasing
		Consumption index	100%Increasing
		Exploitation index	300%Increasing
	*Pricing* *system*	Average household budget for domestic water	€ 99.2/yr *
		Average household budget for agricultural water	€0.11/m³depends on land
		Average household income	€24207urban* €18488 rural*
		Cost recovery	Dom €0.58/m³ Full Financial Irr €0.11 O&M
		Price elasticity	Very small
	*Social* *Capacity building*	Public participation in decisions	Fair
	*Social* *Capacity building*	Public education on water conservation issues	Fair
Decision Making Process	*Water* *Resources* *Management*	Water ownership	State- (partly private)
		Decision making level (municipal, regional, national) regarding: Water supply for each sector	National
		Water resources allocation for each sector	National
	*Water Policy*	Local economy basis	Agri/tertiary
	*Water Policy*	Development priorities	Agri/tourism

Aridity =( (350+318+330)/3)/((4.6+4.4+4.6)/3)x365x.0.75) .. 1961-1990

* Family Budget Survey 1996/97 Statistical Service of Republic of Cyprus

** Includes import by SCP (17Mm³), local groundwater (9 Mm³) and Desalination (4 Mm³)

Exploitation index = 300% since 30Mm³ are used against 10Mm³locally available

Cyprus: Range of circumstances and region analysis

The balance of the annual Total Water Crop less the Surface Water Resources is assumed to replenish directly the aquiferous systems in the island some of which constitute the major aquifers and some are of lesser importance due to their small yield and extent.

There is no trans-boundary water flow in the island except along the artificial boundary created between the “occupied” and the government controlled part of the island. This does not involve more than 10% of the total water resources.

Water Shortage

Rising water

Table 3.1 : Akrotiri Area Matrix

Social issues

ANNUALLY AND SEASONALLY IRRIGATED CROPS (in hectares and Mm3)

Upstream

Downstream

Table 4.1 : Germasogeia Area Matrix

Social issues

Table5. 3 : Kokkinochoria Area Matrix

Social issues

ANNUALLY AND SEASONALLY IRRIGATED CROPS (in hectares and Mm³)