Cyprus Taps Desalination Plants for Hotels to Ease Tourism Water Crunch
On Wednesday, Cyprus announced its intention to provide subsidies for building private desalination facilities at hotels with the aim of securing sufficient freshwater supplies for this tourist-dependent country during peak summer months.
The needs of millions of visitors create pressure on
significant pressure on limited resources
.
Across the nation’s 108 reservoirs, water levels have plummeted to dangerously low points after experiencing the second-wettest winter in ten years. Consequently, the national water distribution system is under considerable strain because of high demand and extensive leakage issues.
Maria Panayiotou, the nation’s Minister for Agriculture and Environment, announced that the government will allocate €3 million in funding over the coming two years to assist hotels in constructing their own water desalination facilities.
Furthermore, steps will be taken to simplify and expedite the process for crucial industries like agriculture and tourism to develop new projects.
small-scale desalination plants
.
Cyprus plans to invest an additional €8 million in repairing pipeline infrastructure to minimize water leaks and losses, which are believed to be as high as 40 percent, according to Panayiotou.
Cyprus already possesses four permanent desalination facilities.
The government initiatives capitalize on Cyprus’s increasing dependence on desalinated water. Four more portable desalination units are set to start operations in October, capable of generating 30,000 cubic meters of potable water each day.
Cyprus currently operates four permanent desalination facilities, with each facility generating 235,000 cubic meters of potable water per day. However, a fifth plant is not functioning because it was affected by a fire.
Panayiotou stated in December that additional desalination facilities are necessary to boost daily production.
fresh water
production quadrupled over the next ten years.
Cyprus still depends on an extensive dam system with a combined storage capacity of 330 million cubic meters.
According to the minister, Cyprus boasts more dams proportionally to its population than any other European nation. Official data indicates that these dams are presently filled to only 24.6 percent of their capacity, down from 47.2 percent last year.
Tourism makes up 13.5 percent of Cyprus’ gross domestic product. Last year, tourist arrivals surpassed 4 million, establishing a new high mark.