Paphos People

Article from Cyprus News Agency 24/3/08

CYPRUS - WATER

Cuts in the water supply to the Water Boards and local administrations by 30% were decided on Monday during a meeting at the Presidential Palace, presided over by President of the Republic Demetris Christofias.

Speaking after the meeting, attended by the Ministers of Agriculture, Finance and the Interior, as well as state officials, Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou said they also decided the immediate preparation of infrastructure in order to import water from Greece, which would take about five months.

In order to tackle the situation, the meeting also decided to extend the capacity of the temporary mobile unit in Pyrgos, Limassol, from 20,000 cubic metres to 40,000 cubic metres of water per day.

The meeting decided to immediate investigation of the possibility of using some container-type desalination plants to cover immediate needs, drilling new wells to support water supply, continue to provide motives for saving potable water and enhancing the awareness campaign on saving water. Furthermore, the three competent Ministries would continue monitoring the situation and would decide further measures, if necessary.

http://www.cna.org.cy/website/english/a ... 2.asp?id=3

D&P

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Don & Pam
Our Paphos Photo Website

I guess it was only a matter of time - any idea what impact this is likely to have on the average home user?

Hi Martin

Here is my take on the likely impact.

Essentially the local municipal tanks will be delivered 30% less and therefore the water available to be pumped into the "mains" will not meet current demand. What is likely is that the municipalities will stop pumping from the local supply tanks once the level in the tanks reaches a certain point. They are likely to do that until the tanks refill. The thing that worries me is that once the mains are empty there will be a wonderful breeding ground of damp and air and that could mean dangerous bacteria and algae. In theory the water mains network should be flushed through with appropriate solutions but I can't see that happening because of the water loss !! I suppose that it will be OK for washing and flushing.

If the municipalities let the supply tanks empty then there will be prospect of pumps running empty (damage and no parts !) and then they will need manual priming. And they must refill the supply tanks otherwise they will not be enough pressure to reach tanks on first or second floors.

But pressure will reduce anyway because of the sudden demand to fill tanks and those properties further away will likely have insufficient pressure to fill tanks............and the viscious circle might be that by that time the supply tank is receiving less water and the supply has closed off !!

And watch out for air locks which could mean that this will need bleeding off before water can flow.

Air will be dispelled from the empty mains on restoration and some say that this may turn your meter!! So you might wish to turn off the supply to your tank. But the worst of this is, even if you conserve water, you will still be paying for air on restoration.

Unless there is a published schedule of actual outage, which there will not be, because it is a supply reduction, then if you turn off the supply to your tank then you will might miss the partial refill.

Some may say that if the 30% is conserved rather than used then the supply tanks won't empty. But realistically that will not happen because the washing of pavements etc., as is the local habit will not stop. And the pools will continue to be backwashed and refilled for maintenance but as as summer advances evaporation will waste as much again. Many blame the locals for waste but they think the same about your pool !!

I can foresee the municipalities requiring the disconnection of irrigation timers from the "mains".

I can also see water supply reductions advancing to 60% in the Paphos area quite quickly as spring turns to summer and then the decision will be washing/flushing or the pool !! Because there won't be enough water full stop or when it is on insufficient pressure to fill both tanks and the pool.

Can anyone foresee having to go to municipal bowsers to fill buckets and water containers?

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Regards

John

Planet Cyprus News,

I think 60-70% of the water processed in Cyprus is used in agriculture and from my riding around the fields over the last 6 months there are big wasters here as well as residentially eg. After 2-3 days rain before Christmas many fields were still spraying water onto trees ... whilst it was raining !!!! According to a family friend, the amount of water used to give good crops of potatoes and bananas is phenemonal and massive wastage occurs ... fields of potatoes get saturated daily and then regular "freak" weather wipes the whole crop out .... perhaps if the water department cut this supply right back then there wouldn't be a need for domestic cuts ? Of course if agriculture has a failed season then we have livelyhoods effected and compensation required, if plantations die out through lack of water (not just a bad crop!!) then that will effect many years to come of peoples livelyhood.

The "Fair" solution to quota so depending on the number of people living full time in your house you get x cu.m per month and then fined heavily if you go over. Those that want to top up pools (i'll leave mine to evaporate away or try it on the garden!), water down pavements or irrigate grass will do so from their own quotas ......... like most "fair" things it wont effect the rich !

So if the WDD cuts supply by 30% then surely the impact to residents will be hardly noticable as that is 16 hours out of 24 WITH water so maybe between 9am and 5pm there is no water from the tap frustrating but if you know you just use bottled water to drink ? However another forum suggested it will be a cut to (not by) 30% so 8 hours of supply a day !!! If this was 9pm to 5am then it will be more effective i think on saving water.

After all these years of water shortages in Cyprus we have to trust that our leader(s) and those in power know what is the best thing to do for us - don't we ?

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My opinion; worth price charged.

Hi

If an over quota fine won't affect the rich then its not achieving water conservation. I am not a lefty or a communist but water should not be rationed by price. Cuts for everyone is my take on this dilemma. Everyone must conserve including the rich.

What level of fine do you think would reduce water usage?

The new restriction will reduce supply and cannot really be extrapolated to 16 hours on in 24. It will vary according to the size of the local municipal tank and local demand on that tank. If you have a tank with low demand then it will be hardly noticeable.

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Regards

John

Planet Cyprus News,

agreed ! thats why i put fair in quotation marks ... initially it seems fair until those with loads of pool and loads of garden giraffe it away, and those with a small shack in the village are scared to take a shower or flush the toilet.

Without knowing the topology of the water network i can only think that the pressurised domestic supply goes from a pump to a big pipe then to a T-split then through more T's until it reaches all the houses in the councils control. Turning the main village pump off will stop water flowing from the tap because there is nothing pushing water out, or letting it "fall out" so the pipe doesn't get air or nasties in it ? If the village muchtar sends his run around on his moped to turn the water off at 9am and back on at 5pm then in summer off at 6am on at 10pm then this will surely conserve water too ?

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My opinion; worth price charged.

I agree, that's another way of effecting local control and if done this way will save much more than 30%. But will the municipalities act in a reactive (level in tank) or a proactive way as you suggest. My guess is reactive because they have taken no action themselves regardless of the water situation and waited for central government to act.

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Regards

John

Planet Cyprus News,

I think it calls for massive investment in infrastructure and reinvest millions of the tax moneys from property sales to fund desalination plants and water importation facilities.

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Straight talking, no Gimmicks.

Live your dreams.

In our current rented villa, we don't have our cold water tank on the roof, its a extra large one in the pool room, its about 6ft tall & about 3ft in diameter, so I have no idea how much water it hold but its far more than the roof tanks, thats for sure

The only downside is, its pressureised & needs electric to pump water through the pipes, so even if they turn the tap off, it will still pump water thru as required, thus causing air in the pipes if the tank ever empties

Our Landlord has said that Tsada has never in his lifetime (46yrs) even had the water cut off or reduced, as they have their own wells I believe, so time will only tell if its true or not

Some of the villages higher up than Paphos, are fed from the monestary supply.


So your drinking holy water

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Straight talking, no Gimmicks.

Live your dreams.

I don't know what we are drinking, Tanny, but it is cleaner than the stuff we used to drink in Emba. We have a water filter for the water cooler and it used to go green and discoloured after a relatively short while in Emba. We have been in Narnia for over 12 months and it is still as clean as the day we moved.

Verity.

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Verity.

Be who you are, and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.

http://coecyp.blogspot.com