The Agriculture Committee of the Parliament is following with great concern the developments surrounding the issue of water shortage in the dams, since after the latest measurement which shows that the total water sufficiency in the dams barely reaches 33%, immediate solutions and measures are needed.
Already, the president of the Commission, Giannakis Gavriil, has put this particular issue among the Commission's first priorities and it is expected that within September they will proceed to register and discuss the problem, although possibly based on the situation as it has developed in the dams, it may already be too late for the taking of measures.
Nevertheless, the Commission, as a matter of duty, should consider both the issue of water supply and the issue of irrigation, since usually the first to pay for the lack of water, it is unfortunately always the farmers.
A competent source asked, “why do we have to run backwards to solve a problem that was apparent a long time ago? Running in retrospect can only be described as tragic. Why should we now run for water and wait for God to make it rain?”
It is noted that the Commission is expected to call all the relevant authorities to discuss the developments , but also what can be changed at the moment, to save what is saved.
In fact, according to the last measurement made, the total amount of water stored in the dams fell to 95.9 million cubic meters (MCU), in contrast to last year, where for the same period the fullness reached 163.192 million cubic meters, which corresponds to 56.1% of total occupancy.
With simple math, this shows that there is a 42.8% decrease in dam occupancy compared to the same time period last year. Besides, in her statements on the matter, the Senior Executive Engineer of the Water Development Department, Elena Foinikaridou-Stylianou, told the KYPE that the approved quantity of irrigation water amounts to 39.7 million cubic meters of water and by the end of July 23, 3 ECM of water. As he pointed out, the coverage of irrigation needs is largely covered by the stored amounts of water in the dams, but also by reclaimed water after tertiary treatment of municipal wastewater.
He also emphasized that in terms of water supply, the five Pangypria Desalination Units continue to operate at full production for more than 1.5 years, which creates reduced needs for refining from the dams' water reserves.
He further indicated that according to the data, the total consumption of irrigation water up to the first months of 2024 amounts to 23.3 ECM of water in all Government Water Projects, compared to 22.5 ECM in 2023, pointing out that the consumptions to date show an increase of 3.5% compared to the corresponding last years.
However, he continued, due to the water cuts that began to be imposed on the irrigation water supply from last May, it is expected that the subsequent consumption will be significantly reduced until the end of the year, in order to meet strictly the SCD. He also said that autumn seasonal crops are expected to be significantly reduced, while the supply of water to permanent crops and greenhouses has been greatly reduced.
Meanwhile, the State is in the process of tightening the penalties for wasting water, since at the moment the fines are 51 euros, a penalty that is considered negligible. It is expected that this legislation will be amended within the year, as reported by state representatives, so that the new fines act as a deterrent for offenders.
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