Newsroom
Water levels in Cyprus’ dams remain worryingly low, with reservoirs across the island now just 21% full, according to the Water Development Department.
Marios Hadjicostis, a senior technical engineer with the department, said the country currently holds about 61.15 million cubic meters of water in its dams. At the same time last year, reservoirs were about 25.4% full, with around 73.8 million cubic meters stored.
In simple terms, there is significantly less water in the dams this year.
Part of the problem is that rainfall slowed down in early March. Without steady rain, very little new water is flowing into reservoirs. But Hadjicostis said the issue is not just how much rain falls; it’s also where it falls.
“Rainfall is not just a number,” he said. “It needs to fall in the right areas for the water to actually reach the dams.”
One of the most critical areas is the southwestern side of the Troodos Mountains. Rain there creates strong runoff that feeds several of Cyprus’ largest reservoirs. Without rainfall in that specific region, dams struggle to refill even if other parts of the island receive showers.
February brought some relief with relatively good rainfall, but overall reserves are still considered low. Officials are now looking to the final weeks of March with cautious hope.
“We are now relying on the last fortnight of March,” Hadjicostis said. “March owes us rain.”
Weather systems bringing low pressure could still deliver the rainfall needed to boost inflows to the dams, he added.
Even so, Cyprus increasingly relies on another source to keep taps running: desalination.
Desalination plants now provide roughly 70% of the drinking water supply for the districts of Limassol, Nicosia and Larnaca, helping the country cope with the ongoing pressure on its natural water reserves.
