Cyprus water supply project: features and outcomes

Abstract

Cyprus Island has very limited water resources. Recently, this problem has rather been resolved by transferring water from Turkey to the island known as Cyprus Water Supply Project (CWSP). The CWSP is comprised of three phases named, Turkey side, sea crossing, and Cyprus side. From the construction point of view, sea crossing is the most important phase of the project that is the first in the world with its high-density polyethylene pipeline of 80 km crossing the Mediterranean Sea in a suspended position at 250 meters below sea level. Besides, the annual amount of water transferred to the island is more important from socio-environmental perspective. This article aims to introduce the main construction features of CWSP. In addition, outcomes of the project were reviewed regarding the island climate, available water, local and regional development objectives and ambitions, and increasing water demand in the foster island. Since 2015, with the realization of CWSP, 75 million cubic meters of water is supplied to the island per year that is used for potable, irrigation, and industrial needs. The results indicated that the supplied water has significantly increased the annual amount of total accessible water of northern island. But, there is still substantial shortage of water in the entire island to meet its needs. Lessons learnt from this project improved the knowledge of submarine water pipeline construction and could be considered as a real milestone toward transboundary water supply projects in the world.