NICOSIA – With its only source of water on the island being rainfall, Cyprus doesn’t have enough to meet its needs for drinking and other uses and is the worst off in the European Union in lacking that resource.

The Secretary of the Agriculture Ministry Andreas Gregoriou warned that Cyprus is in a permanent state of water scarcity as the semi-arid region suffers from frequent and extensive droughts, said The Cyprus Mail.

“Climate change has already affected our region with rainfall significantly reduced, with over 40 percent reduction in surface water runoff,” he said, no other way to get water to the island.

https://cyprus-mail.com/2023/03/28/water-poverty-at-its-eu-highest-in-cyprus/

He told reporters at a news conference about energy savings that there must be adherence to measures not to waste the product and follow directives about flooding and municipal wastewater treatment.

Other plans include reusing water and greater desalination of sea water to be used for means other than drinking, Cyprus also under pressure from tourism  – its biggest revenue engine – but which sees demands on water use.

Gregoriou warned that climate change is making water sources scarcer, requiring greater reusing to protect against the effects of drought if there is a sustained period without much rain.

The water department said that dam capacity this year is almost 20 percent less than the same month a year earlier, adding to the concern about what would happen if it gets too low, after an annual drop of 59 million cubic meters.