Famagusta slashes water losses from 47.2% to 34%

Local FamagustaTop Newswater Famagusta slashes water losses from 47.2% to 34% Diarroi Nerou Relevant News Famagusta slashes water losses from 47.2% to 34% 14 September 2026 Parliament debate on curbing anti-poaching activists divides MPs 14 September 2026 Erosion leaves Oroklini promenade collapsing near hotels 14 September 2026 Vassos Vassiliou 14 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Water losses across Cyprus run into millions of cubic metres a year, and the effort to reduce so-called unbilled water continues in every district, with some recording impressive improvements. Nicosia is the best-performing district, with losses limited to 20%, but Famagusta has also made progress: the Famagusta District Local Government Organisation (DLGO) has cut its losses from 47.2%, the rate when it took over water supply, to 34% now. That drop is significant in absolute terms. The 47.2% loss rate on water DLGO bought in 2024 amounted to 2,631,499 cubic metres, compared with the 1,813,837 cubic metres lost today under the 34% rate. Individual areas within the district vary widely. Liopetri and Avgorou have recorded the highest losses throughout the period: Liopetri’s rate ran at 69.1% in 2024, fell to 60.8% in 2025, then rose again to 64.0% in 2026, while Avgorou improved steadily from 67.9% in 2024 to 65.0% in 2025 and 55.4% in 2026, though it remains particularly high. Ayia Napa has recorded the lowest losses of any area, but lost some ground: after falling from 29.2% in 2024 to 14.5% in 2025, its rate rose again to 22.9% in 2026, an increase of 8.4 points and 93,016 cubic metres against 2025, even though it still sits 6.2 points below its 2024 level. Paralimni presents a different picture. Its water supply system is theoretically better than those of the smaller Famagusta communities, and its loss rate is lower than places like Liopetri and Avgorou. But because it buys far larger quantities of water, its actual losses in volume are the biggest in the district. In 2024, Paralimni bought 2,451,525 cubic metres from the Water Development Department, of which 1,216,406 cubic metres went unbilled, a rate of 49.6%. Over the following two years that rate fell to 31.6% in 2025 before rising again to 33.7% in 2026, a reversal that saw unbilled volume drop by 406,538 cubic metres against 2024 but rise by 30,074 cubic metres against 2025. Paralimni remains the district’s top priority because of the sheer volume involved. Three other areas have improved steadily across the three years: Frenaros fell from 63.2% in 2024 to 37.8% in 2025 and 33.3% in 2026, Achna from 61.0% to 57.5% to 39.1%, and Sotira from 40.5% to 37.3% to 33.6%. Deryneia and Acheritou need closer monitoring, DLGO says: Deryneia’s rate has swung sharply, from 33.9% in 2024 up to 46.4% in 2025 and back down to 26.4% in 2026, while Acheritou is the only area in the district still worse off in 2026 than in 2024, moving from 43.7% to 47.4% and settling at 46.1%. Across the district as a whole, DLGO’s total loss rate moved from 47.2% in 2024 to 33.3% in 2025 and 34.0% in 2026. The small uptick in 2026 came alongside an actual fall in unbilled volume of 25,471 cubic metres, because the total quantity of water purchased fell even more sharply. DLGO says this does not amount to a genuine overall worsening. Measured from the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2026, the unbilled quantity fell by 817,662 cubic metres, or 31.1%, and the loss rate fell by 13.2 percentage points; 4,285,544 cubic metres remained unbilled in 2025. Four areas, Paralimni, Ayia Napa, Liopetri and Avgorou, account for the bulk of the problem: together they lost 1,434,359 cubic metres in the first half of 2026, or 79.1% of the district’s total unbilled volume, which is why DLGO’s reduction effort is concentrated on them. DLGO notes that these losses are not all leaking water: they cover “physical and apparent” losses, legal non-billed uses such as water theft, and chronic meter deviations, so the full unbilled figure should not be read as pipeline leakage alone. Famagusta DLGO president Giannis Karousos told Phileleftheros the losses will fall further once smart meters are bought and installed, with state backing. A 5 million euro fund for this was approved in 2021 but later withdrawn, and DLGO is now awaiting its re-approval, he said. In the meantime, a 2.3 million euro programme, funded through the Thalia fund, has begun to repair more than 2,000 vulnerable points in the network, and a 300,000 euro tender for special pressure valves and flow meters is due to be issued next week. DLGO’s planned diagnostic work includes mapping and balance checks for each pressure zone, confirming all entry points and boundaries; minimum night-flow measurements and targeted leak detection, with records kept of the network kilometres inspected; checks on pressures, valves, tanks and overflows, with pressure-management recommendations where needed; and analysis of fault history by pipe material, age and diameter, along with detection and repair times. On the metering and billing side, DLGO plans accuracy checks on inlet and consumer meters, covering age profile, under-registration, and zero or unusual consumption, alongside a replacement programme; agreement with the accounts department on estimated readings, billing delays, credit corrections and unbilled accounts; and recording of legal non-billed uses such as firefighting, cleaning, evacuations and other operational consumption. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Parliament debate on curbing anti-poaching activists divides MPs Erosion leaves Oroklini promenade collapsing near hotels Mainly clear Monday, 37 degree peak Boat carrying migrants partially sinks in Greece, 25 missing Russia hits train on Ukraine’s border with Poland carrying Boris Johnson, diplomats Woman killed in occupied north, husband remanded for three days Cyprus welcomes US renewal of arms restrictions waiver as Ankara objects Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.