RAINS GOLDEN FOR THE DAMS - IN 3 DAYS THE WATER INFLOW IS EQUAL TO THE PRODUCTION OF A DESALINATION PLANT - THIS MARCH IS THE SECOND BEST OF THE DECADE - Filenews 23/3 by Angelos Nikolaou
The situation of water storage in the large dams of Cyprus shows a significant improvement, as the heavy rains of the last few days have given the necessary breath to the water reserves.
According to the latest official data from the Department of Water Development, this year's March is already recorded as one of the most productive months of the last decade.
The last three days have been extremely important, as the total water inflow amounted to 12.3 million cubic meters (ECM). To understand the size of this quantity, it is enough to note that 12.3 ECM is equivalent to the total annual production of a desalination plant with a capacity of 34,000 cubic meters per day.
Of this quantity, the lion's share was received by the dams of the Southern Pipeline, where the inflow reached 6.2 ECM, significantly strengthening the country's most strategic water network.
In the Unified Southern Pipeline Scheme (ESNA), the current stored quantity amounts to 42.1 ECM, which translates into an occupancy rate of 22.2%. Although the level remains low, the comparison with the corresponding period last year (46.2 ECM or 24.4%) shows stabilizing trends.
On the positive side, the quantity stored at the Kouris dam amounts to 27.9 ECM (24.3%) compared to 23.1 ECM (20.1%) in the corresponding period last year.
On a nationwide scale, the overall occupancy rate in the large dams presents a better picture than last year. Today: 78.1 ECM (26.9% occupancy), last year: 71.8 ECM (24.7% occupancy).
The most encouraging data comes from the total inflow of the month, which reached 20.7 ECM. This performance ranks this March as the second best in terms of water inflow in the last 10 years, offering an important breath of safety for the upcoming summer season, but also a way out of the delay observed in putting desalination plants into operation. The largest water inflow for the month of March was in 2019 with 32.3 ECM.
Despite the positive development, the competent bodies remain restrained, reminding that water management must remain prudent, as climate variability does not allow for complacency.
