THE PAPHOS village of Peyia has finally been given approval to be connected to the main sewerage system.
The Paphos Sewerage Board (SABBA) gave the go-ahead to the municipality at a meeting in Paphos on Monday.
According to Peyia councillor Linda Leblanc, the next step is to apply to the Interior Ministry for their approval, adding she believed this was only a formality.
“This request will be to extend the existing boundaries of SABBA to include Peyia,” she said.
“The Peyia council fully support this move, as we would fall far behind if we tried to undertake such a project ourselves. As there is already an existing facility, it makes sense of us to connect to it.”
The EU requires all European coastal towns with 1,000 or more permanent residents to have a coastal sewerage treatment facility by 2012.
Even with the inclusion of Peyia in the existing network, Leblanc was concerned that the village may incur heavy penalties if work wasn’t completed on time.
“Thankfully this seems highly unlikely, as long as the works are seen to be proceeding.”
The project will cost a substantial amount, with the councillor assuring that SABBA and members of Peyia council would thoroughly examine all the implications before any work begins.
“It does mean that a sewerage tax will be implemented in Peyia, but figures are not yet available.”
Following studies, tenders will be offered, and Leblanc said the coastal area of Peyia to be included first.
“Pipes will be laid in September next year,” she said. “Then upper Peyia will be included, and eventually the system will stretch further out, but this is a long way off.”
Leblanc admitted that, based on the SABBA works that have taken place so far in other areas of Paphos, she and the Peyia councillors are expecting progress to be long and slow.
“There have also been concerns expressed about the quality of work. Generally, there isn’t a high level of confidence in the way any major public works have been managed in the past.”
She added, “It’s really urgent that we move ahead.”
Leblanc pointed out that, according to the existing studies, Peyia should be on target to have main line sewerage within the required timeframe.
The study allowed time for a year-long, thorough examination of where structures like holding tanks and pipes should be placed. This would then be followed by two years of construction works.
“Residents are concerned that this work will be going on during the tourist season,” Leblanc said. “They have also expressed their concerns about the cost of the project, and some say they shouldn’t pay [and that] it should be the developers. They come and develop Peyia, make millions of euros of profit and walk away without the necessary infrastructure being in place.”
Leblanc admitted that a number of locals were questioning if the expensive project was needed at all.
“There are 5,000 permanent residents in Peyia and the figures increase dramatically during the summer months.
“All of these people are using septic tanks and our soil is chalky, clay or bedrock. There is no proper seepage for the sewerage.”
According to the councillor, a number of locals are backwashing their swimming pools into their septic tanks and the chlorine is preventing the bacteria from breaking down the waste.
“Also, I don’t know of anyone that uses special products in the home, which are for use with a septic tank, such as washing powders and liquids.”
The fact that growth in Peyia is so large during the summer season also poses a problem, and the sewerage system will need to be designed to cope with the peak times. This will mean the creation of a number of holding tanks in Peyia, so that waste doesn’t flood the system and overflow. Instead it will it will have to be fed into the system slowly.
Peyia’s expanding population
ACCORDING TO Leblanc, official figures which are being used by SABBA to base the sewerage system on, suggest that in summer 2009 there were 20,000 residents in Peyia and the projection is 25,000 for the summer of 2030.In winter there are 5,000 permanent residents, this figure is projected to rise to 6,250 by 2030.
The statistics also show that in Paphos there are currently 47,500 permanent residents, a number which is expected to rise to 66,000 by 2020.It also states that there are one million visitors to Cyprus every year, and that 70 per cent are covered by the existing SABBA service.
“We are concerned in Peyia about incurring costs which are already outstanding,” said Leblanc. “Paphos sewerage board already has a very big loan and proper analyses of extra costs, which will be incurred for including Peyia needs to be undertaken.
“Obviously, we will have to pay for these, but we do not want to be lumbered with being responsible for the previous outstanding loans.”
