Absence of proper drainage means rainwater lost

WHILE Cyprus is plagued by a grave water shortage problem, rainwater is being lost due to the absence of proper water management infrastructure.

The common practice in Cyprus is to let water accumulate in sewers and then let it flow to the sea. As the Commissioner for the Environment, pointed out, the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems would ensure that rainwater is neither wasted nor lost.

“In a country facing an acute water shortage problem and the depletion of its underground water reserves, the management of rainwater and sewage design should have for years been examined with greater care,” said Charalambos Theopemptou, Environment Commissioner.

As Theopemptou pointed out, the principles of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) have been practiced for years in other countries. “Sustainable sewage design takes into serious consideration the protection of the environment, people’s quality of life, as well as the quantity and quality of the water,” Theopemptou said.

Sustainable sewage design is based on four main methods of rainwater control. These include the creation of ‘delay ponds’ and absorption points, through filter sewers and absorbent surfaces, areas for cleaning and absorbing the water, as well as ‘delay ponds’ and absorption of large quantities of rainwater in parks and green areas.

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.