Filenews 19 May 2025 - by Ioanna Mantziapa
New sampling at three points of the Lady's Mile beach was carried out on Monday morning by officials of the Health Services and the Department of the Environment of the Republic of Cyprus, in order to clarify once and for all the issue with the quality of sea water. The results, as we are informed, will be ready on Wednesday.
New sampling was also carried out by the competent Departments of the British Bases.
Filenews identified the officers of the above departments after completing the new sampling. It should be noted that, after the panic caused and the disturbance, the Municipality of Kourion and the Municipality of Limassol also proceeded with joint sampling, so that – as we were told – clear answers were given to the public.
It is noted that today the beach of Lady's Mile is empty of bathers, who seem to have avoided entering the sea after what came to light.
As filenews wrote yesterday in a publication, there is no concern about the quality of the water on the coastal front of the Lady's Mile, according to the official results of the analyses carried out by the General State Chemistry Laboratory, which are now in the hands of the Department of Environment of the Republic of Cyprus.
Specifically, it is reported that the results from the four seawater sampling points show zero to very low numbers of enterococci and are within the limits set by the European directives (2006/7/EC, 2000/60/EC). Therefore, there is no infection.
According to the Department of the Environment, the first results showed that the waters are clean and completely safe for swimming along the entire length of the beach, refuting the concerns caused by the announcement by the British Bases about the existence of "unsafe levels of enterococci". The announcement was based on preliminary measurements, carried out in a non-accredited laboratory and communicated within 24 hours of the collection of the samples.
In a new statement yesterday afternoon, the British Bases, commenting on the different results of the State Chemical Laboratory of the Republic of Cyprus, stated: "We are aware of the differences between the results of the tests carried out by the British Bases and those carried out by the Republic of Cyprus".
Until there is complete certainty about the safety of water quality, the Bases Authorities recommend refraining from swimming in the affected areas. As they emphasize, "the health and safety of the public remains our highest priority".
