Find Water and Sanitation expertise in Cyprus

During the period 1960–96 water supply in Cyprus focused on the use of conventional water resources. Ground water constituted the main source of water for both irrigation and drinking-water supply. This resulted in serious depletion and degradation of ground-water resources due to over-pumping and seawater intrusion. Confronted by the lack of water, the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment, through the Water Development Department, has, since 1997, resorted to the use of non-conventional water resources, using measures such as desalinisation techniques, wastewater reclamation and reuse, and the utilisation of low-quality water. The Water Development Department is responsible for the management of the country’s entire water infrastructure and the implementation of policy relating to the water sector. Private-sector involvement in the country’s water sector is limited to the management of desalination plants on government contracts. Completed in 2012, the harmonisation programme established the installation of central sewage systems in 4 major urban areas within Cyprus: Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos. Under development now, expecting to be completed in 2015, is the construction of additional water works as provided in the Strategic Water Development plan.