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Cyprus: Water Supply

Volume 486: debated on Tuesday 13 January 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the water shortage in Cyprus and the effectiveness of policy to combat it; and if he will make a statement. (245223)

Cyprus is going through its worst water shortage for many years owing to prolonged dry seasons and lower than average rainfall year-on-year. The government of the Republic of Cyprus has looked to counteract this in several ways, including for the short term, imposing restrictions on water usage to conserve the reservoir levels and importing water from Greece. In the longer term, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus is looking at the potential of building more desalination plants to convert sea water into drinking water.

It is too early to comment on the potential effectiveness of these policies. The level of drought experienced is unprecedented and can only be remedied in the short term with rainfall.