Hundreds of farmers, agricultural businesses and citizens who have irrigation sources are facing an unprecedented economic threat, as the Department of Water Development (WDD) has started sending letters demanding the retroactive payment of environmental and resource fees for the use of water from private boreholes and other sources outside Government Water Projects.
This move has provoked a strong reaction from agricultural organizations, which in a joint letter to the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Maria Panagiotou, ask for the immediate revocation of the decision, talking about exterminating charges in a period of prolonged crisis.
The seriousness of the situation is vividly reflected in documents obtained by "F". In one of the cases, the WDD asks a company for the astronomical amount of €110,567.03. This amount concerns the period from August 2017 to 2024, with the Department giving a payment deadline of only 90 days (until April 7, 2026), even warning with default interest.
According to the relevant water fee regulations (RAA 48/2017), the fee is set at €0.01 per cubic meter (€0.01/m³).
Regulation 9 refers characteristically to those who have water abstraction licenses for:
• Private drilling
• Natural sources
• Rivers
The aforementioned should now expect to be asked to pay for each year retroactively, based on recorded consumption or, in cases where there is no meter, based on calculations set by the director of the WDD. The start date of the invoicing was set for August 10, 2017.
In their letter, the agricultural organizations emphasize that the imposition of this tax in 2026, with a retroactive effect of nine years, is unacceptable.
The organizations are calling for an urgent meeting with the Minister of Agriculture to discuss this very serious issue, warning that if there is no political intervention, many producers will face a financial impasse and the risk of stopping their operations.
