LIMASSOL Water Board has called for a crisis meeting with the Agriculture Minister as water reserves run dry with emergency supplies from Greece continuously delayed by technical problems.
“If the Greek water does not start flowing by the beginning of August, Kourris will not be able to supply the urban area of Limassol as the dam’s resources will have run out,” Socrates Metaxas, Director of Limassol Water Board, said yesterday.
“We call the Minister to do everything humanly possible to enforce as soon as possible the chosen option, which was to have daily deliveries of potable water from Greece. If that is not accomplished on time, then, in cooperation with the relevant Ministry we should examine alternative solutions to cover the population’s basic needs,” Metaxas said.
According to Limassol Water Board, possible alternative solutions include pumping water from boreholes, from underground reserves, and the maximum use of desalination units.
The Mayor of Limassol, Andreas Christou, confirmed that the situation was urgent and that the municipality had started pleading with authorities to take action on the depletion of the town’s resources since a year and a half ago. The Mayor’s warning, however, had not resulted on any action on the part of relevant authorities.
“The situation is difficult because Limassolians never thought that the water was their water, as some think,” said the Mayor, suggesting Kourris water had not only been used to supply Limassol.
“From the beginning we had said that water from Kourris would be sent wherever it was needed. It has been one and a half years, from the beginning of 2007, since we sent out letters warning that with the rate at which water from Kourris was taken for purposes including agriculture, there would come a day when Limassol would go thirsty,” said Christou.
“Since then, we asked for compensatory measures. Unfortunately, we were not heard. We had asked that these measures be enforced first in Limassol, irrespective of what would happen elsewhere because we saw the danger,” he added.
The possibility of further water cuts does not at present seem imminent, as the Water Development Board is not in support of this measure. “Certainly that is a very difficult scenario that I hope we will not need to enforce,” said Argyris Papanastasiou, Director of Nicosia Water Board.
“Further cutbacks would be catastrophic, both for the network, but most importantly for consumers themselves,” Papanastasiou added.
Despite the urgent need for water, authorities are not in a position to offer a date when the Greek water will start flowing to land again.
“There are no developments today. The subcontractor is working on fixing the pipe. It seems it will take two to three days, until the end of the week, we don’t know. They did not say anything on the time needed for the repair,” said Kyriakos Kyrou, Senior Officer at the Water Development Department.
The faulty pipe is presently being repaired by the subcontractors commissioned by Ocean Tankers to construct the pipes. The defect was found in the 250m long flexible underwater pipe that connects the tanker with the anchorage, through which an underwater pipe transports the water on land. The problem with the pipe was noticed as the water was flowing at a much lower pressure than expected.
It emerged that the problem was caused by the way with which the interior of the pipe was lined. The membrane lining the pipe was reportedly placed in a hurry and only the membrane’s ends were clipped securely. As a result, air traveled between membrane and pipe, barring the continuous flow of water.
The Water Development Department refrained from assigning responsibility for the faulty pipe, although it has been suggested that the lead contractor, Ocean Tankers, and not any subcontractor working on part of the project would be held liable.
“The Water Board has a contract with a specific company for the transportation and delivery of 8 million m³ of water. The contract includes the construction of all infrastructure, at least the under-sea segment of it,” said Nikodemos Nikodemou, Senior Officer at the Water Development Department.
Meanwhile, concern has been voiced on whether the water in the second tanker that arrived from Greece will have the same fate as the first, which was deemed unsuitable for human consumption due to the long waiting period off the coast of Limassol. The State Lab yesterday took samples of the water carried in the second tanker for analysis, while the State Lab’s Director announced she has asked for a daily briefing on the water’s condition.
“We hope and I believe every effort will be made so that it doesn’t have the same fate as the first load. It should not undergo the same treatment in terms of chlorinisation and it should not stay immobile for ten more days,” said Stella Michaelidou, State Lab Director.
“I have recommended that the chlorinisation is not excessive (as I had done with the previous load when I saw that chlorinisation was high and I had repeatedly said it should be lowered). From then on I cannot control how the management is done. But I have asked in writing for a daily briefing on the chlorine levels at the tanker,” Michaelidou said.
