Second tanker unloaded, but little respite for Limassol

THE SECOND tanker carrying Greek water has now been successfully unloaded, while the lab results for the water aboard the third tanker, the Xifias, are expected before its unloading begins.

Nevertheless, Limassol Water Board yesterday clarified that water cuts would continue for the time being.

“Unfortunately we are not in a position to end the cuts, with the indications we have today. This may be re-examined by the end of the current year, when the construction of the floating desalination unit is scheduled for completion, the water treatment unit at Garyllis is finished, and when the winter season begins,” said Socrates Metaxas, Director of Limassol Water Board.

Metaxas confirmed that half of the water aboard the second tanker, the Gopa, was used to enrich Yermasoyia’s underground water reserves and the other half was supplied directly to Limassol’s drinking water network.

“From the second tanker that came from Greece we got a total of 23,519m³ of water for Limassol Water Board at an average flow of 1,100 m³ per hour, while other quantities were supplied to the underground reserves of Yermasoyia river, to cover the needs of the eastern areas of Limassol that are within the Board’s borders,” he explained.

“After the enforcement of water cuts, Limassol Water Board needs a total of 30,000m³ of water per day and the eastern areas of urban Limassol need an additional 10,000m³. We took 23,000m³ and took 7,000m³ more from boreholes at the Kourris delta,” Metaxas added.

State Lab analysis had initially indicated the presence of a microbiological load in three of the 13 tanks aboard the Gopa, although it was later confirmed that only two tanks displayed this characteristic. Authorities decided not to treat this water with additional chlorine, but included it in the quantities supplied to Yermasoyia aquifer.

“The quality of water in the two tanks could have been rectified with the addition of chlorine, but some quantity would have been sent to the aquifer anyway, so the State Lab decided that those quantities that display a less good image should go to the Yermasoyia underground reserves,” said Stella Michaelidou, Director of the State Lab.

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