Mobile desalination units located in the Limassol and Paphos districts and increased capacity of the existing desalination units are included in an action plan to address water scarcity, which will be submitted for approval to the Council of Ministers in the coming days, Acting Director of the Water Development Department (WDD) George Kazantzis told CNA on Saturday.
He also said that WDD’s and other government departments’ long-term planning takes place on the basis of climate change.
Responding to a question about dam water levels, Kazantzis said that they very low, below 27% , adding that “as long as there is no rainfall the levels will keep dropping.”
Regarding the desalination plants, the WDD Acting Director said that for some time now the five existent desalination plants have been operating at their maximum capacity, noting that occasionally some problems occur, which is understandable when a plant is operating on a continuous basis.
He noted that arising problems are being addressed in close cooper
ation with the contractors, adding that “we are moving forward so that at least the water supply is 100% covered so far.”
Asked if the artificial rain technology is among options being explored, he said that “it is something that is still being discussed, but we have not yet come to a conclusion.”
He noted that the problem with this technology is the low success rates, adding however that given the current situation with the drought, all solutions are being considered in collaboration with the Meteorology Department.
“It is a technology we are looking at in depth, which in relation to the cost will reveal whether or not it will be a solution to move forward with or not”, he said.
Referring to statements made on Friday by the President of the Pafos District Self-Government Organisation, Charalambos Pittokopitis, regarding the water supply in his district, Kazantzis said that WDD “has been working for months to draw up an action plan to tackle water scarcity, which will be submitted for approval to the Coun
cil of Ministers in the coming days.”
He added that the programme to be approved includes immediate, medium- and long-term actions, noting that the immediate actions include using mobile desalination plants in the Limassol and Paphos districts and increasing capacity of existing desalination plants, among other things.
Source: Cyprus News Agency