Large quantities of recycled water are lost, since more than 4.7 million cubic meters (million cubic meters) end up in the sea.
The water that is recycled mainly at the wastewater treatment plants of Vathia Gonia and Larnaca, in several cases contains almost twice the amount of salts than those specified, with all that this implies for crops.
The problem of "electrical conductivity", as it is known, also exists to a lesser extent in the Limassol-Amathus treatment plants, Anthoupoli, Ayia Napa and Paralimni.
After all, millions of cubic meters of recycled water remain unpriced every year.
It is noted that in addition to the large investments made for the construction of the wastewater treatment plants, the cost of "purification" of water is also high, which ranges at 80 cents per cubic meter of water.
It is also noted that the Nicosia wastewater treatment plant (Anthoupolis and Vathia Gonia stations) has a capacity of 13.2 million cubic meters per year and the Larnaca district 6.5 million cubic meters.
In Limassol and Larnaca in 2020, 4.7 million cubic meters of water were thrown into the sea. from the water produced. It should be noted that the Limassol district has the largest capacity in the production of bottled water, given that the stations of Amathus and West Limassol produce 19.3 million cubic meters. Annually.
Based on data from the Water Development Department (as recorded in a report by the Audit Service) in 2023, 28.2 million cubic meters of water were produced from the biological stations of the Urban Sewerage Councils.
Of these, a quantity of 13.6 million cubic meters was allocated for irrigation and invoiced. Water. That is, 48.22% of the recycled water produced was utilized. In other words, a quantity of 14.6 million cubic meters. of recycled water was not used for irrigation purposes.
If it is assumed that the treatment of each cubic meter costs at least 80 cents, then water worth €11,600,000 was not used.
The year with the largest amounts of unavailable water (16,277,549) was 2020. That is, this quantity is more than the capacity of the Dipotamos dam which amounts to 15,500,000.
If the cost of water treatment is considered to be 80 cents per cubic meter, the water that was not allocated was worth €13 million.
Even if it is considered that water that is not available for irrigation purposes enriches the aquifers, it must be borne in mind that pumping it in the process entails additional costs.
As far as the discharge of recycled water into the sea is concerned, the data shows that in 2020 the losses amounted to 4.7 million cubic meters. which translates to 35.2% of the total production of the Larnaca and Limassol wastewater treatment plants, while in 2023 the percentage of water discharge into the sea decreased to 10%.
The water that is "purified" at the urban wastewater stations is received and handled accordingly by the TAY, which pays to the Sewerage Councils the cost of the tertiary treatment of the wastewater and then stores it and disposes of it for irrigation.
As reported by the competent authorities, during the winter months, there may be a surplus of water that cannot be stored, resulting in it being discarded.
For this purpose, the TAY shall ensure a relevant discharge permit for each wastewater treatment plant, which shall indicate the parameters relating to the quality characteristics of the water and the frequency of their monitoring.
Depending on the area in which each plant is located, the parameters required for quality characteristics may vary, e.g. in environmentally sensitive areas, the requirements for the quality of the water discharged are more stringent.
As stated in the report of the Audit Service, the TAY carries out a control of the quality of the water, with analyses carried out through private chemists.
According to the report, the stations show deviations from the defined values of the parameters examined, with that of Larnaca and Vathia Gonia gathering the most deviations.
Specifically, with regard to the Vathia Gonia treatment plant, in the period 2020 – 2022, a total of 110 deviations were identified in various parameters, with the majority being concentrated in the conductivity index, which presented values almost double the permitted limits.
As reported, while according to the station's discharge permit, the upper limits of electrical conductivity are set at 2,500 μS/cm, the average annual value on the basis of 12 samplings carried out in 2022, amounted to 4,128 μS/cm (almost double).
Similarly, with regard to the Larnaca treatment plant, in the period 2020 – 2022, a total of 109 deviations were identified in various parameters, the most important of which was the conductivity index, which showed higher values than the permitted limits.
It is also reported that on the basis of 22 samplings carried out during the year 2022, the average annual value (as calculated on 22 samples) amounted to 3,563 μS/cm, while according to the disposal permit of the plant, the upper limits of electrical conductivity are set at 2,500 μS/cm.
It is noted that the following observations were also recorded in the Auditor General's Report:
> Not all communities are connected to wastewater treatment plants, and not all households are connected to the sewage system.
> In the water supply, cost recovery is very low, while during the period 2019-2023 an increase in water demand was recorded at a rate of 14.8% (+3.5%/year).
> There is no uniformpolicy on the disposal of water.
> Crops are not adapting to less water-intensive crops, while significant water losses are recorded due to a weakened network.
> Salinization of water was observed in seven of the 22 groundwater systems due to marine infiltration.
