Fluctuations in potable water quality in Cyprus during the past two decades – the role of seawater desalination

Abstract

AbstractThe scarcity of drinking water resources in Cyprus has started becoming a major issue during the past decades, as a result of prolonged draughts and failure to implement a sustainable water conservation and management policy. Cyprus, a semi-arid classified area in the Eastern Mediterranean, has traditionally been relying on water reservoirs for the collection and treatment of rainwater destined for human consumption. Seawater desalination has been introduced during the past 15 years as a means of alleviating the drinking water shortage problem and complementing the dam reserves; however, the usage of desalinated water has not yet been optimized. As a result, desalination plants have been constructed and shut down after only short operation times, some have been built and commissioned only to be put on standby mode soon after, while construction of others was postponed until it was too late to cope with water shortage problems etc. This situation has been creating a series of problems associated wi...