PEYIA RESIDENTS COMPLAIN OF RECURRING WATER CUTS

 Cyprus Mail 1 September 2020 - by Bejay Browne

Exasperated residents in Peyia, fed up with interruptions in water supply, have taken to social media to complain. However, the local mayor pointed out that problems have only occurred twice the entire summer.

“Unfortunately the same area of Peyia has been affected twice by problems in water supply this summer, the last one was this weekend but all areas are back on now,” Marinos Lambrou, told the Cyprus Mail on Monday, adding that supply to some areas may take longer, as the water has to pass through the entire system.

The mayor said that the problem experienced on Sunday was ‘small’ compared to the first one which saw him personally intervene and ensure that a second pipeline was installed to boost supply.

Residents have water storage tanks which hold two tonnes of water and which should be sufficient to their needs for the 12 to 24 hours the mains supply was unavailable, he said.

“Residents were without water for 24 hours maximum, but unfortunately the technical issues affected the same area of Peyia on both occasions. Most of Peyia was not affected.”

However, according to a post on the official municipality Facebook page on Monday afternoon, the water supply was yet to resume in all areas, and a local kindergarten had to send children home early.

“I have a kindergarten in Peyia, and now we have had no water all day. We have to send the children home early as it’s a health risk.” The nursery complained on the Facebook page.

“I don’t remember the time with normal water supply,” a Peyia resident, Alexandra, posted on the page. Almost all of the time, the municipality share information messages on Facebook. “I’m extremely tired of the situation. I have flowers and trees that need to be watered everyday, but as I see nobody cares.”

Another commented : “No water again, it’s been off since Sunday morning, and when it’s on, the pressure is very low.”

Last year, a further 500 water meters were installed in Peyia and currently there are around 12,000 to 14,000 residents using the water supply in the area, according to Lambrou. Such numbers can put a huge strain on the system, which also has to pump water to upper Peyia.

Local councillor and Peyia resident, Linda Leblanc, said that much has been done in the last couple of years to improve the water supply in Peyia, which for the last few decades has been an issue, particularly in the summer months.

“Our supply is from Kannaviou dam which is 35 kilometres away and often issues are the responsibility of the water development department and not Peyia municipality. When the municipality has any information, they share it. Last year, there were problems with the filters at the dam,” she said.

Peyia residents may always contact the technical services of the municipality to find out more information, she said.

“The authorities are doing the best they can,” she said.