The recent rain in Cyprus has been good, but it’s not enough to boost the island’s water supplies. A low-pressure system brought some water to rivers and land, giving a little relief to the dams during this tough time.
In just five days, 43% of January’s expected rainfall fell, according to the Water Development Department. Even with this good news, the overall situation is still worrying as dam levels stay historically low.
The Kouris Dam, the largest in Cyprus with a capacity of 115 million cubic meters, now holds only 10.9 million cubic meters of water, which is just 9.5%. Last year at this time, it was at 22.1%. The recent rains added about 1.13 million cubic meters but didn’t change things much.
Overall, the island’s dams, which can hold a total of 290 million cubic meters, are at 10.2%. Last year, they were over 26% at this time. Vyzakia, Germasogeia, and Achna have particularly low levels, while the Kalopanagiotis Dam is doing well at 84.8% of its capacity.
January is turning out to be the most ‘productive’ month of the hydrological year so far, with total inflows of 3.389 million cubic meters in the first 13 days. However, experts stress that we need more rain and smart management of our water reserves.
