21 Sep 2005
DAM WATER STORAGE - 2005
Cyprus enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with abundant sunshine year round. Long dry summers and mild winters are separated by short autumn and spring seasons. Summer is a time of high temperatures with cloudless skies, but the sea breeze creates a pleasant atmosphere in the coastal areas. Winters are mild, with some rain and snow on Troodos Mountains. The annual waterfall is limited, which makes water shortage a serious problem for the country. This is the reason why we have built, and continue to build, dams all over the island (at least now in the free part). Building all these dams however would be pointless if there was not enough rainwater to fill them. And unfortunately there is not much rain. If we look at the inflow of water in the dams the last 12 years we can see that between 1993 and 2001 (8 years) the average per year was only 50 mcm (million cubic meters). This caused huge water shortage problems to the people and land, but also eliminated huge quantities of fish from many of the dams including big dams like Dhypotamos, Lefkara and Kalavasos.
The rainfall during 2001-2004 was very good compared to the previous years (150 mcm average per year). As a result, we were fortunate enough to see all but one (Evretou - 22 mcm out of 24 mcm capacity) of our dams over-spilling during the year 2004, some of which for the first time ever. Please note that it took 3 consecutive years of excessive (for Cyprus) rainfall, for the dams to fill. This looked very promising for water storage and of course for fish reproduction and growth.
However what we see today, September 2005, after a dry winter (inflow of water only 50 mcm again), is that, almost half the stored quantity is gone in only 18 months. And considering that we could easily have another 3-6 years of drought, as it usually happens, then things do not look good at all. The bad news of course also affect the fish populations. What took 4 years to recover (maybe not fully yet) can easily be destroyed by next year considering that some of the dams now hold only about 10-15% or less of their total capacity of water. The Water and Fisheries Departments should at least consider stop removing water from those dams and even close them for fishing, until the situation gets better hopefully with a good coming winter.
Yermasogia dam is very close to destruction. For some unknown reason, the water in Yermasogia dam is being removed in huge quantities (the dam gate is open for more than a year now, and tens of thousands of tons of water are being wasted every day in the river towards the sea). The ecosystem that took more than 40 years to develop, could easily be destroyed forever by the end of the year, unless they stop removing and wasting the water NOW. The present water storage of the dam is only 37% reducing rapidly.
A similar situation exists in Kourris dam, with about 200 thousand tons of water being removed every day. Where is this water going and for what reason?
We do not want, in any way, to question the water management policy of the Water Development Department, but it surely seems that the water from the dams is being wasted for some reason. Things are not that bad as far as drinking water is concerned, because we can always get water from the desalination factories!!! (At a much higher cost). Having full dams eliminates the need to buy desalinated water. Empty dams means we desperately need desalinated water and we would be willing to pay any price to get it. It certainly makes you wonder, doesn't it?
After 8 years of drought (1993-2001) and without desalination factories for most of the period (they were only built recently - the first one in 1997), fish straggled and managed to survive in almost all dams (some species like tench or perch are most probably gone). This was due to the campaign that the Water Development Department undertook during those years for the saving of the water. Today, after 3 successful years and over-spilling dams, we are in a situation similar to 1993 (152 mcm). Some of our dams already look like tiny ponds. If the drought continues in the next few years (as it usually happens), I'm afraid that we will again see thousands of fish die in the muddy water, due to lack of oxygen and high water temperatures from the summer sun. We certainly do not want to face again the situation of 1998 with a total of only 19 mcm of water stored in ALL dams and thousands of fish dead. And please note that 1994 and 1995 were good hydrological years followed by 3 years of drought resulting in the tragic situation of 1998.
We have to keep in mind that water shortage will always be a problem for the island, no matter how much it rained in a certain year or two. Water should always be saved and used wisely.
Check the dams current water level. Click here...
