Tourists need to be told about drought

Sir,

I was so infuriated this morning that I had to write to you!

I live in one of a group of houses with a communal pool, some of us live there permanently and some of the houses are holiday homes. This morning I looked out of my window and saw a neighbour (on holiday) hosing down his patio and also the surrounding pool area with water from various outdoor taps, including mine. Those of us that live there DO sweep the areas and keep it clean, but without the use of water or very little.

I reminded him that there is a desperate water shortage on the island, and that some of us are using various methods to conserve water, (Using buckets in the shower to catch the waste water for flushing the toilets, and watering plants with the washing-up water, etc). He was amazed, and asked if I was serious.

This person has only been on the island for 48 hours, and in that time he used more water than we have used in two months!

Surely, in these desperate times, more could be done by the authorities to publicise the fact that there is no water, so do not waste it!

A good place would be at the Larnaca and Paphos Airports, perhaps somewhere in the area of the Immigration desks, and again on the way to the exit after baggage reclaim. That way visitors arriving in Cyprus would be aware of the situation and hopefully heed it.

That takes care of the visitors, but as it has been reported frequently in your newspaper, residents are also to blame as they continuously wash their patios and adjoining pavements. Perhaps, notices along the roadside on public advertising boards and in shops would get to their conscience and hopefully make them realise that it also means everyone!

V A Loughrey

Larnaca

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.