Cyprus is pushing to cover all its drinking water needs through desalination, ending dependence on rainfall, as dam levels across the island have fallen to 32.7% of capacity, Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou has announced.
Speaking as the government presented its water security strategy, Panayiotou said current reservoir levels — at 95.1 million cubic metres overall, and just 27.6% (52.3 million cubic metres) in the Southern Conveyor system — made action urgent. “The government has recognised the mistakes of the past and has no intention of repeating them,” she said, pointing to the contrast between the 2022 dam overflow and the severe drought of 2023 as evidence that complacency had no place in state planning.
Under the plan, approved by the Council of Ministers in November 2024, dam water would be reserved entirely for agriculture, strengthening food security. A network of 19 desalination units — existing, mobile, and planned — would supply all domestic needs.
Three units are already operational: the Moni facility, donated by the UAE, running at full capacity of 15,000 cubic metres per day; an expanded mobile unit at Kissonerga in Paphos producing 12,000 cubic metres per day; and a unit at Limassol Port producing 10,000 cubic metres per day. A fourth unit at Garyllis, also rated at 10,000 cubic metres per day, has been delayed by the war in Israel, which prevented the transfer of contractor equipment and personnel to Cyprus; completion is now expected in May 2026.
Also due for completion in 2026 are capacity upgrades at Episkopi — rising from 10,000 to 15,000 cubic metres per day by September — and at Vassiliko, where output will double from 10,000 to 20,000 cubic metres per day by November.
In 2027, a new mobile unit at Mazotos is planned with capacity of up to 40,000 cubic metres per day, and a floating desalination unit at Germasogeia rated at 20,000 cubic metres per day, both expected to be completed by January 2027.
Four permanent plants incorporating renewable energy sources are planned for completion by 2029 through the Water Development Department. These include an 80,000 cubic metre per day facility at Dhekelia replacing the existing unit; a 60,000 cubic metre per day plant in eastern Limassol; a 30,000 cubic metre per day unit at Agia Thekla in Ayia Napa; and a 10,000 cubic metre per day facility at Polis Chrysochous, which currently relies solely on boreholes. The ministry said Ayia Napa, Mazotos and Polis Chrysochous would for the first time have their own desalination capacity.
Budget allocations for water infrastructure have risen sharply: spending on water projects is up 54.8% to €25.7 million in 2026 from €16.6 million in 2022; sewerage works producing reclaimed water are up 160% to €14.3 million; and dam maintenance spending has risen 344% to €1.2 million.
As part of a drive to cut water consumption by 10% — roughly 10 million cubic metres — by 2026, the ministry will begin distributing hundreds of thousands of free tap aerators and shower flow regulators to households, public buildings, and schools from May 2026.
An information leaflet printed on recycled paper and a dedicated section on the GOV.CY website will accompany the rollout. Distribution of 11,000 flow regulators to public buildings and schools is also set to begin in May.
The ministry said it had also produced two documentaries — The Water Remembers and The Water Speaks — and developed a water-monitoring application called Stagono-metro, targeting schools and the tourism industry.
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