Cyprus has recorded five consecutive days of rainfall, with fast-moving river flows, flooded streets in urban areas and the reappearance of small waterfalls in the countryside. Yet reservoir inflows remain at very low levels.
Speaking to Politis, senior technical engineer at the Water Development Department, Marios Hadjicostis, explained that the rainfall so far has mostly served to saturate the soil rather than contribute to dam storage. Once the ground is fully saturated, he said, subsequent rain will be able to run off fields, flow into rivers and eventually reach the reservoirs.
To illustrate how low the inflows have been, Hadjicostis noted that after 500,000 cubic metres of water were recorded across Cyprus between Friday and Sunday, inflows dropped sharply at the start of the week:
• Monday: around 70,000 cubic metres
• Tuesday: 67,000 cubic metres
• Wednesday: 106,000 cubic metres
“Unfortunately, the rainfall so far has been ‘of the ground’, simply to allow the soil to absorb what it needs,” he said. “We hope conditions improve in the coming period so we can see strong inflows and an increase in reserves.”
According to the Meteorological Service, rainfall is expected to continue in the days ahead. Weather conditions will clear from Thursday until Sunday afternoon, when a new short-lived system is forecast to affect the island, bringing rain and storms through Tuesday.
Overall reservoir capacity remains extremely low, standing at just 9.5 percent, compared with 25.4 percent this time last year. Out of a total capacity of 290.804 million cubic metres, reservoirs currently hold 27.511 million cubic metres, down from 73.922 million cubic metres a year ago.