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Thirsty Cyprus left three metres short of water supplies
Nicosia (AFP) July 7, 2008 A 3.5-metre (10-foot) miscalculation with the final section of an undersea pipeline is depriving Cyprus of badly-needed water supplies shipped over from Greece. Greek Cypriots on Monday were still awaiting the precious cargo to reach shore, a week after it arrived off Cyprus. The specially-built 1,320-metre undersea pipeline falls 3.5 metres short of a land pipe which is to channel the water to a distribution centre, said the shipping company involved in the project. The connecting pipe from the ship is not long enough after experts apparently miscalculated the length. A red-faced Agriculture Minister Michalis Polynikis told state radio of his "surprise" over the latest snag because up until Sunday lunchtime he was confident water would be offloaded. The drought-parched island is in desperate need of additional water supplies from Greece to replenish dwindling reserves, but it now has to wait until the problem is fixed. A Cypriot shipping firm is to ferry a total of eight million cubic metres (280 million cubic feet) of water from Greece to help ease the holiday island's water crisis. The entire deal will cost the government more than 40 million euros (62 million dollars) but still only meets half the island's estimated shortfall of 16 million cubic metres by the end of this year. The first ship -- carrying 50,000 cubic metres -- has been anchored off the southern port city of Limassol since June 30. A second tanker will not depart from Greece until the initial consignment is unloaded. Six tankers are involved in ferrying the water to Cyprus, with the transfer -- totalling 200 shipments -- expected to be completed by November. Because of a two-year drought, most households on the eastern Mediterranean island have had water supplies reduced by a third to try to tackle the shortage. The government is also looking to draw up a long-term strategy, including more desalination plants and increased output from the two existing ones. Reservoirs in the government-controlled southern part of divided Cyprus are now at just 6.8 percent of capacity, or 18,730 million cubic metres, a third of the level of the same time last year. Related Links Water News - Science, Technology and Politics
West Bank faces grave water shortages: Israeli rights group
Jerusalem (AFP) July 1, 2008The occupied West Bank faces grave water shortages largely as a result of "discriminatory" Israeli policies, an Israeli human rights group said on Tuesday. |
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