Newsroom
Rainfall recorded in Cyprus so far this October has helped maintain dam reserves at levels close to those seen in September, offering some relief after several years of declining water stocks.
Figures released by the Water Development Department on Thursday show that dams across the island hold a combined 103.386 million cubic metres of water, equivalent to 35.6% of their total capacity. On the same date last year, reserves stood at just 34.703 million cubic metres, or 11.9%.
The increase amounts to 68.683 million cubic metres in a year, marking a substantial improvement on the situation in October 2025. However, current reserves remain well below the volumes recorded in 2022 and 2023, when Cyprus had considerably more water stored in its dams.
Kouris records a substantial recovery
Kouris, the island's largest dam, with a capacity of 115 million cubic metres, is currently 36.9% full, holding 42.467 million cubic metres of water. At the same point last year, its reserves amounted to 12.581 million cubic metres, representing 10.9% of capacity.
Despite the recovery, Kouris remains far from the levels recorded in October 2022, when its stored water exceeded 76 million cubic metres. Reserves subsequently fell to approximately 53 million cubic metres in October 2023, around 29 to 30 million in October 2024 and just 12 to 13 million in October 2025.
The latest figures therefore point to a welcome improvement, although the dam has yet to regain the water volumes it held several years ago.
Kalopanayiotis dam reaches full capacity
Water levels vary considerably across the island's dams. Kalopanayiotis is currently the fullest, at 100% capacity, followed by Xyliatos at 75.2% and Vyzakia at 72%.
Arminou stands at 61.6%, Pomos at 60.5% and Germasogeia at 48.3%. Agia Marina has reached 47.7%, Argaka 43.5%, Polemidia 43.1% and Kannaviou 42.4%.
Further down the list, Evretou is at 38.8%, Asprokremmos at 35.7%, Mavrokolympos at 29.7%, Dipotamos at 25.1%, Kalavasos at 21.8% and Lefkara at 17.3%.
Achna has the lowest reserves among the dams listed, with its water level standing at just 8.3% of capacity.
Recent rainfall follows years of poor inflows
Historical data from the Water Development Department show how sharply water inflows have fluctuated over the past decade. The strongest year was 2018-2019, when total inflows reached 265.04 million cubic metres. The 2021-2022 hydrological year followed with 153.75 million cubic metres, while 2019-2020 recorded 135.95 million.
By contrast, inflows fell to only 18.664 million cubic metres in 2024-2025 and 24.714 million in 2023-2024. The 2025-2026 hydrological year brought a marked improvement, with total inflows reaching 117.091 million cubic metres.
The change in stored reserves over recent Octobers illustrates the scale of the challenge. Total water stocks stood at 216.229 million cubic metres in October 2022, before falling to 155.93 million in October 2023. They dropped further to 88.607 million in October 2024 and 39.721 million in October 2025.
This year's increase offers a stronger starting point for the coming months than Cyprus had a year ago. Nevertheless, the gap between current reserves and those recorded in 2022 remains substantial, leaving rainfall and future inflows important factors in the island's water supply outlook.
