Cyprus’s government is combining recycled-water deployment, network upgrades and water-saving measures after monitoring data found that only five of the country’s 21 groundwater systems remain in good condition, according to a report published on 13 October 2026 (Philenews).
The report identifies Maroni, Treminthos riverbed, Germasogeia, Paphos and Mari-Kalo Chorio as the systems in good condition in both quantity and quality, while the other 16 are rated poor, principally because of a negative water balance (Philenews).
Water policy shifts toward recycled supply
Cyprus produced 32.6 million cubic metres of recycled water in 2025, with 30.1 million cubic metres used directly or indirectly, and the government’s policy now combines increased water production, reduced network losses, recycled-water use, infrastructure upgrades, water saving and a review of long-term water policy (Philenews).
The stated policy position is that the approach has not failed, but that weaknesses must be acknowledged and the strategy continually adjusted as forecasts are updated for changes in inflows, consumption and new projects (Philenews).
By 2030, the government aims to strengthen Cyprus’s water resilience through infrastructure projects, desalination and water saving (Philenews). The National Investment Plan for Water Projects includes a €25.7 million recycled-water project in Larnaca, alongside projects in Nicosia, Limassol and the free part of Famagusta district (Philenews).
More treatment output still requires collection and delivery
About 90 per cent of recycled water goes to agriculture, almost 37 per cent of the country’s total irrigation needs, while 55 per cent is used directly to irrigate crops and 30 per cent indirectly to recharge aquifers (Philenews). In 2024, irrigation users received 20 million cubic metres of recycled water, compared with 33 million cubic metres from dams (Philenews).
Some treated effluent remains unused or is temporarily discharged to sea, while the government aims to replace such discharges with storage and transport infrastructure (Philenews). Connecting all households and businesses to sewerage systems is expected to add about 22 million cubic metres of recycled water annually, with additional sewage-treatment plants due by 2030 increasing output further (Philenews).
The event is also relevant outside Cyprus because the same infrastructure challenge—transporting treated water to demand centres and protecting aquifers—appears in groundwater-recharge systems elsewhere, although the supplied report concerns a different location and jurisdiction (Tucson Local Media).
Specification Read
The reported national scale is 32.6 million cubic metres of recycled water produced in 2025, equivalent to approximately 89,315 m³/day when the annual volume is divided by 365; 30.1 million cubic metres was used directly or indirectly, equivalent to about 82,466 m³/day (Philenews). No plant-specific design flow, population equivalent, influent BOD/COD, footprint or performance guarantee was reported, so those values cannot be used to define an individual plant specification (Philenews).
For a wastewater plant intended to produce irrigation-grade recycled water, the relevant treatment train is screening, primary clarification, biological treatment, tertiary treatment and disinfection, with nutrient management and salinity controls needed where reuse conditions require them. The Cyprus event bears directly on the tertiary-treatment, storage and distribution stage because recycled water is already being used for irrigation and aquifer recharge, while additional sewer connections and treatment plants are expected to raise output (Philenews). A buyer should also account for storage, transport routes and the seasonal mismatch between year-round wastewater production and peak summer irrigation demand (Philenews).
If your plant looks like an inland or coastal reuse scheme with a flow in m³/day, specified BOD/COD in mg/L, agricultural irrigation downstream and pressure to protect groundwater or meet reuse-quality limits, this means your enquiry should cover tertiary reuse, storage, conveyance and permit conditions as one integrated scope (Philenews). Equipment selection can be compared against the municipal wastewater treatment market and the water purification product range.
FAQ
How much recycled water did Cyprus produce in 2025?
Cyprus produced 32.6 million cubic metres of recycled water in 2025, and 30.1 million cubic metres was used directly or indirectly. The share used increased from 89 per cent in 2023 to 90 per cent in 2024 and 93 per cent in 2025 (Philenews).
What is the main design constraint for a recycled-water project?
The report identifies transport and storage, distance between sewage-treatment plants and farming areas, the summer concentration of irrigation demand and the need for water quality to match its intended use as key constraints. Extensive transport networks and storage are therefore required to use more of the treated effluent (Philenews).
What information is missing for an initial equipment budget?
The report gives national annual production and use but does not state a plant-specific design flow, population equivalent, influent BOD/COD, storage volume, pipe length, equipment cost or delivery schedule. Those inputs are needed before a supplier can quote treatment capacity, tertiary-treatment equipment, disinfection, storage or conveyance (Philenews).
How should a buyer select a treatment and reuse supplier?
The available evidence supports requiring one offer to connect treatment performance, reuse-quality compliance, storage and transport interfaces. A buyer should also ask how the supplier will address the reported mismatch between continuous wastewater production and summer irrigation peaks, and which guarantees cover water quality and permitted discharge (Philenews).
