Newsroom
As Cyprus urges households to cut back on water use amid one of the driest years in a decade, mounting criticism points to a glaring gap: while families face restrictions and fines, large companies continue using vast amounts of water with little oversight.
The Water Development Department recently called on the public to limit consumption, warning that dams are at critically low levels after a string of dry winters. Some areas are already facing supply reductions, and officials have floated the idea of stricter rationing if rainfall doesn’t pick up this winter.
But environmental experts and community groups say conservation efforts are being unfairly shouldered by households, while the private sector, from agriculture and construction firms to water-intensive industries, operates largely unchecked.
“There’s a sense that ordinary people are being scolded for watering their garden while some companies can pump water freely,” said a local environmental advocate. “If we’re in a real crisis, everyone needs to play by the same rules.”
Data on industrial water use remains opaque. Cyprus lacks a public registry showing how much water private companies extract from aquifers or consume from the public supply, making it difficult to assess who uses what. In some cases, commercial boreholes operate under outdated permits, or none at all, while state inspections remain limited due to staffing shortages.
Officials acknowledge the gap. The Agriculture Ministry has promised tighter monitoring and is exploring digital meters for large users to track consumption in real time. However, critics argue that enforcement often lags behind announcements.
Experts warn that the island’s water system, already strained by climate change, over-pumping, and saltwater intrusion, cannot sustain unequal conservation rules. “If industries aren’t monitored properly, you’re not just wasting water, you’re eroding public trust,” one hydrologist said.
For now, Cyprus continues to rely heavily on desalination and imported technology to make up for shrinking natural reserves. But as drought deepens and the public’s patience thins, one question keeps resurfacing: why are ordinary people expected to do all the saving when companies don’t have to?
