Cyprus is facing one of the most critical tests of its water policy in recent years, as the government and the Water Development Department try to balance the needs of farmers against the need to keep safety reserves in dams.
A recent department report comparing alternative water allocation scenarios warns that any move beyond the limits set by the Water Management Advisory Committee could lead to the full depletion of dams before the end of 2028.
The committee met on April 24, 2026, to set a management plan for 2026-2028. For a water system to be considered safe, the dam storage should not fall below 35%.
After the meeting, additional but limited inflows were recorded in dams, without significantly changing the overall picture. Stored inflow in dams now stands at 120 million cubic metres, or 41.3%.
According to the approved report, irrigation water in 2027 and 2028 must remain at very low levels to avoid a collapse of the system. Even under restrictive measures, the Paphos Large Irrigation Project is already showing signs of depletion within three years.
Desalination and the 2029 target
Cyprus is increasingly relying on non-conventional water sources. The five permanent desalination units operating up to 2024 covered about 70% of drinking water needs served by government water supply systems.
That share approached 75% in 2025 and reached around 80% in early 2026. Through bridge projects, Cyprus is expected to move close to sufficient coverage of drinking water needs through desalinated water in the first months of 2027.
The national plan aims to reduce dependence on weather conditions and gradually achieve full coverage of drinking water needs from desalinated water by 2029, through additional permanent units already in the pipeline.
Germasogeia floating unit cancelled
A major change in the original plan is the reassessment and effective cancellation of the floating desalination unit planned for Germasogeia.
The change followed a letter from the Finance Ministry, which cited the unit’s high cost under current fiscal conditions and improved dam inflows since January 2026.
The Water Development Department, however, warns that removing the Germasogeia floating unit from the plan creates further uncertainty in the water balance. The unit would have had a capacity of 20,000 cubic metres a day, or 6.6 million cubic metres a year, from early 2027.
The warning comes as other units, including Moni, are expected to stop operating at the end of 2026.
Irrigation scenarios raise alarm
Following a request by the agriculture director-general on May 11, 2026, the Water Development Department examined alternative scenarios for increased irrigation supply.
The scenarios included granting irrigation quantities to the Southern Conveyor Project at least at last year’s levels, increasing quantities to the Paphos Large Irrigation Project to last year’s consumption or by an additional 10% and 20%, and raising supply to Polis Chrysochous by 10% and 20%.
The scenarios used the same three-year horizon and the same assumptions on desalination operations as the report examined by the advisory committee, excluding the Germasogeia floating unit.
For the Southern Conveyor Project, the committee’s scenario provides for only 10% coverage of needs for permanent plantations and greenhouses, with no supply for seasonal crops. Under that scenario, reserves in Southern Conveyor dams would fall to 44.9 million cubic metres, or 23.7%, by the end of 2026. Current stored quantities stand at 70.1 million cubic metres, or 37%.
Alternative scenarios would raise coverage to 43%-46%, offering temporary relief to producers but reducing reserves by the end of 2026 to 21.5 million cubic metres, or 11%, cutting the safety margin by 14 million cubic metres compared with the original plan.
In Paphos, the committee’s scenario provides 26% coverage for permanent plantations and greenhouses, with reserves exhausted in December 2028. Under that scenario, Paphos dams would hold 21.7 million cubic metres, or 30.3%, in December 2026.
Under the alternative scenario involving a 20% increase, coverage would rise to 45% for permanent plantations and greenhouses and 40% for seasonal crops. But dam depletion would come earlier, in April 2028, with a deficit of 6.3 million cubic metres. Under that scenario, Paphos dams would hold 16.8 million cubic metres, or 23.4%, in December 2026.
For the Polis Chrysochous irrigation project, the basic scenario allows 50% coverage for permanent plantations and greenhouses and 30% for seasonal crops. Raising coverage to 60% would push reserves to a critical 2.4 million cubic metres, or 9%, by the end of 2028. Under the committee-approved scenario, reserves at the end of 2026 would stand at 8.8 million cubic metres, or 33.7%.
For the Nicosia irrigation project, 50% coverage for permanent plantations and 30% for seasonal crops would partly deplete reserves, bringing them to 9%. At the end of this year, stored quantities are estimated at 3.95 million cubic metres, or 50%.
Race to expand water infrastructure
The Water Development Department is running a broad desalination and water-treatment programme, but challenges remain.
Desalination units are already operating at Moni, Kissonerga, since February 2026 and Limassol Port since April 2026.
Rapid treatment plants are expected in 2026 at Garyllis this month, Episkopi in September and Vasiliko in December.
The Mazotos unit, with a capacity of 40,000 cubic metres a day, is expected in January 2027. The permanent Agia Napa unit, with a capacity of 30,000 cubic metres a day, is not expected before 2029.
The Dhekelia unit is also causing concern, as its contract expires in May 2027 and the quantities for 2028 are not guaranteed because they remain under negotiation.
Saving water
Beyond infrastructure, the government is focusing on changing habits. Average water consumption in Cyprus reaches 140 litres per person, compared with 125 litres in the EU.
The “Water, for tomorrow too” campaign and the “Stagonometró” app are among the tools being used to fight waste. In the coming weeks, the mass distribution of saving equipment is expected to begin, including 2,000,000 tap nozzles and 1,000,000 shower flow reducers.
The goal is to reduce consumption by 10%, an amount officials say would be equivalent to building a new permanent desalination unit.
The Water Development Department concludes that the advisory committee’s scenario is the only option that keeps basic safety reserves. Any short-term improvement in irrigation for 2026, it says, would come at a high cost over the following two years, increasing the risk of water shortages and making resources harder to manage.
The three pillars against water scarcity
Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Minister Maria Panayiotou said Cyprus is facing one of its most important and complex challenges: securing water adequacy under climate pressure and prolonged drought.
She said water scarcity is not a temporary phenomenon but a long-term problem requiring consistency, responsible management and the avoidance of past mistakes. She also said improved inflows this year should not lead to complacency.
The ministry’s strategic plan is based on three pillars: increasing water quantities through non-conventional sources such as desalination, improving the water supply network and building water awareness.
The state is also supporting local government in tackling water losses caused mainly by ageing infrastructure. For 2025, projects worth €10.5 million were approved for District Local Government Organisations and an additional €1 million for communities to replace pipelines and reduce leaks.
An emergency grant of up to €300,000 is also being provided for each District Local Government Organisation to ensure faster detection and repair of faults.
Panayiotou warned that Cyprus overconsumes water compared with the rest of Europe. The ministry, with the Press and Information Office, is implementing the “Water, for tomorrow too” campaign.
The campaign includes the “Stagonometró” app, developed with the KIOS Centre of Excellence to calculate daily household consumption, free saving equipment for businesses, households, public buildings and army camps, and a new website gathering information, projects and practical advice on water.
Panayiotou said that if each person reduced consumption by just 10%, the result would be equivalent to building an additional permanent desalination unit.
Water scarcity requires a change of course
Water Development Department director Iliana Tofa-Christodoulou said dealing with water scarcity is not a matter of one good year, but requires big technical, institutional and social changes.
Despite increased rainfall and snowfall this year, which gave reserves a significant boost, Tofa-Christodoulou said there should be no complacency.
She said the idea that one rainy year means the country is fine is a simplistic and unscientific approach to a complex phenomenon.
For Cyprus to enter a stable and safe path, at least two more good hydrological years are needed, accompanied by permanent and targeted management measures.
Today, all areas of Cyprus have negative balances, as water consumption exceeds the amount entering catchment areas, stored in dams, or produced by desalination units.
Cyprus has invested for decades in non-conventional resources, including desalination and reclaimed water. But Tofa-Christodoulou said the answer can no longer rely only on increasing supply.
She pointed to the need for immediate action on demand, including reducing network losses through pipeline replacement, maintenance and smart monitoring by telemetry.
She also called for the modernisation of agriculture, moving away from outdated high-loss practices towards precision agriculture and telemetry, to produce more with less water.
Extreme cases of overconsumption currently reach 500 to 700 litres per person per day, confirming that water is often being wasted unnecessarily.