The creation of a Single Water Management Authority is a necessary precondition for adopting an integrated national strategy in the water sector, according to the president of the Nicosia District Local Government Organisation, Konstantinos Yiorkadjis.
"Such a body should have real administrative, financial and operational independence. It should monitor the country's overall water balance, coordinate all the organisations involved and shape policies based on scientific data and the real needs of each area," he states in an article on the matter.
"At the same time, it will be able to integrate into a single plan the dams, the desalination units, the water supply networks, the reuse of recycled water, the management of stormwater, the protection of underground aquifers and the shaping of a pricing policy that protects the average household and vulnerable groups, discouraging unnecessary consumption. The distinction between the body producing water and the body responsible for the overall management of the water balance will strengthen transparency, accountability and effectiveness in decision-making," he adds.
For his proposal he cites the example of fifteen European Union member states that have already adopted corresponding institutions for the regulation and supervision of the water sector, with Greece being the most recent example. As regards Cyprus, he notes that it already has the necessary expertise, infrastructure and human resources to proceed with such a reform.
"The question, ultimately, is not whether it will rain more next winter. The question is whether we will acquire a modern, effective and unified management system that will ensure the country's water sufficiency for the coming decades and the next generations. Because water is not simply a natural resource. It is a matter of environmental sustainability and national security. It is a foundation of development and social cohesion, and its management requires unified planning, clear responsibilities and a long-term vision," Mr Yiorkadjis states.
The current model: "Uniform measures, without always ensuring equal and proportionate results"
Describing the existing water management model, he observes that it is characterised by a fragmentation of responsibilities and limited coordination between the bodies involved, despite the significant investments made in recent decades in dams, desalination units, water supply networks and wastewater treatment facilities.
"This reality highlights the need for a more integrated and strategic way of governing the water sector. Decision-making must be based on objective data and take into account the particular conditions of each province, both in terms of water supply sources and consumption needs and existing infrastructure.
"Recent discussions on horizontal reductions in water supply highlighted precisely this need. Dependence on the state network, the availability of alternative sources and the percentage of non-revenue water differ significantly between provinces. As a result, the application of uniform measures does not always ensure equal and proportionate results.
"The Nicosia Province, for example, presents non-revenue water of around 20%, while it has no substantial alternative water supply sources beyond the state network. Consequently, a 10% reduction in supply from the state network translates almost identically into a real reduction in the available quantity of water. By contrast, in other provinces where water supply is reinforced by additional sources, such as boreholes or reservoirs, the real impact of a corresponding measure is clearly smaller," the president of the Nicosia District Local Government Organisation explains.
"The need for strategic planning is not limited only to managing consumption but extends also to planning the necessary infrastructure works. In several cases the future needs are already known, yet the required investments proceed slowly, with the result that management shifts from preventive to crisis management. A characteristic example is the wider area of Latsia and Western Nicosia, where intense residential development is constantly increasing water demand. Within just two years, more than 1,000 new connections were added to the system served by the Glyfa Reservoirs, with an annual growth rate of around 5%. Today the pumping stations and the pipeline of the Water Development Department supplying the area have a capacity of around 12,000 cubic metres of water per day, while during the summer months demand is already approaching this limit. If the current growth rates continue, needs are estimated to reach 14,000 cubic metres per day within the next five years, exceeding the capacity of the existing system," he then states.
"Water exists": Valuable water resources remain unused
At the same time, he sees significant water resources remaining unused. "This fact takes on particular importance at a time when decisions have been taken to reduce by 33% the available quantities of irrigation water for the agricultural sector. The mistaken impression is created that there is not enough water for irrigation. In reality, water exists and, more specifically, it is produced," he notes, and then explains:
The three wastewater treatment plants of the Nicosia District Local Government Organisation at Vathia Gonia, Anthoupolis and Mia Milia produce around 46,000 cubic metres of tertiary-treated recycled water daily, that is around 17 million cubic metres annually. Nevertheless, only 24% of this quantity is used for irrigation purposes, while the remaining 76% ends up in natural recipients.
Correspondingly, on a Cyprus-wide scale, around 45 million cubic metres of tertiary-treated water are produced annually. Of these, around 18 million cubic metres are used, that is 40%, while the remaining 27 million cubic metres, 60%, are discarded mainly into natural recipients.
In addition, stormwater is one of the most underestimated and unexploited resources in Cyprus's water system. Every year, significant quantities of rainwater are lost to the sea or the subsoil without any use, while at the same time millions are invested in producing desalinated water at high energy cost.
"These examples highlight that the challenge concerns not only the availability of water but also the exploitation of existing resources through timely planning and completion of the necessary infrastructure for transport and distribution," Mr Yiorkadjis states.
