Cyprus ‘blind to real scale of its groundwater extraction’

The state cannot determine how much groundwater is actually pumped, according to research published on Friday by the investigative reporting network ( Ciren ). The research, drawing on data from the water development department (WDD) and findings from the audit office, found that 76 per-cent of irrigation supply came from private boreholes. Of Cyprus’s 22 groundwater bodies, 14 remained in poor condition, down from 16 in a 2016 assessment, with nitrate pollution and seawater intruding having a negative effect on several aquifers. The WDD reported some 137,548 licensed boreholes in Cyprus, with 98,720 having been licensed before 2010, when district authorities handled the process.

Speaking to Ciren , former Ecologist’s MP Charalambos Theopemptou informed that many older boreholes remain absent from the database, limiting the department’s ability to maintain a comprehensive picture of boreholes in any given area. More recent records show 46,353 abstraction points held approved annual pumping limits as of 31 March 2026, amounting to approximately 149. 4 million cubic metres a year. The audit office found that inadequate monitoring means the volume actually extracted from Cyprus’s groundwater bodies each year cannot be accurately calculated. The data show a concentration of pumping rights, for around 66 per-cent of abstraction points are authorised to pump no more than 500 cubic metres annually, accounting for just 4. 4 per cent of the total authorised volume. By contrast, 1. 4 per cent of points, those authorised to pump 30,000 cubic metres or more, account for nearly 68 per-cent of all authorised…