Water shortage in Cyprus

This may sound strange, but it's true. When we first visited this beautiful island, we didn't give it a second thought. How could there possibly be a water shortage on an island? Of course, we didn't pay attention to our water consumption while showering, washing dishes, or brushing our teeth.

However, we now think differently. After all, this is our new home, which will soon no longer have enough fresh water. Cyprus has 108 reservoirs, but unfortunately, for years they haven't been properly filled

due to weather conditions. It's regrettable that there's too little rain and too little snow in the Troodos Mountains.

We've been monitoring the water all day, but unfortunately we can't use it. Climate change is clearly having an impact here. In winter (January to April), there's much less rainfall than the locals would like.

In January 2025, everyone was very sad when the water had to be drained from a reservoir near Paphos. There was a crack in the dam wall that needed to be repaired. Thousands of cubic meters of fresh water flowed into the sea, and everyone could only watch sadly.

Of course, everyone in Cyprus is trying to conserve water, but it's not enough. Farmers can no longer irrigate their fruit and vegetable gardens.

The government has asked the population to refrain from planting new crops. The effects are clearly noticeable: Prices are rising rapidly.

For example, the price of locally grown cucumbers increased from €0.79 per kilo to €3.49 per kilo within a week.

Last week, the water fountains on the beach were also turned off to conserve water. Unfortunately, there are still some locals who aren't complying.

For instance, the artificial turf between the parking lots is sprayed with fresh water every week. This is incomprehensible.

Today I had a similar experience at my hairdresser's, who, by the way, is from here. He left the water running while shampooing me. I checked the time, and it was over five minutes.

It's unbelievable that not everyone understands what it means when there's suddenly no fresh water available.

It's constantly claimed that the water shortage is caused by non-Cypriots.

Of course, tourists use a lot of water, and it's true that many of them aren't considerate.

But shouldn't the locals be setting a good example?

A desalination plant was originally planned for construction near Paphos, but the project unfortunately failed to obtain the necessary permits.

The government has since granted hotels permission to install their own desalination plants. However, the hotels must bear the costs themselves, which will naturally affect room rates.

Another problem is the noise these facilities generate. They are so loud that it's unbearable to be near them for long. Furthermore, only hotels directly on the seafront could build such a facility, as otherwise the streets would have to be torn up to lay the pipes. This would also negatively impact the newly constructed promenade.

Overall, this is not ideal Solution. We can only hope that a better solution to this major problem will soon be found. Furthermore, the people who live here should pay more attention to how much water they use. It would also be great if tourists didn't just book a holiday, but instead did some research beforehand about the place, the island, or wherever they're going. And then showed a little consideration and understanding.