Extracting Pentadaktylos groundwater ‘would be biggest mistake’

Extracting groundwater found under the Pentadaktylos mountains would be the “biggest mistake we can make”, environmentalist Ilkay Ilseven said on Wednesday.

Speaking about the north’s overall water situation, he said the pipeline project bringing water to the dam at Panagra from Turkey had a planned lifespan of 30 years when it was inaugurated in 2010, meaning there are now only 16 years left until this time elapses.

“Considering future generations, we must take radical measures to strengthen existing underground water accumulations until the pipeline’s lifespan elapses. In this context, no new water wells should be opened, and the extraction of water from existing wells should be avoided as much as possible,” he said.

His calls come after the north’s ‘environment ministry’ announced at the end of last month that it had found its “largest ever” groundwater source near Ayios Epiktitos

He also called for the installation of meters in the existing wells to ensure that no more water is extracted than is replaced by rainfall.

“The biggest mistake that could be made is to use the little remaining groundwater in the Pentadaktylos mountains by digging new wells. Continuing to make this mistake will result in leaving a country which has been turned into a desert with dried up water resources for future generations,” he said.

He added, “the existence and location of aquifers on the island of Cyprus have been known since the British colonial period. In North Cyprus, there are around 15 aquifers.”

“In addition to the mistake in Ayios Epiktitos, there are also plans to tap into the aquifers in Lapithos and Kythrea with artesian wells. Making these mistakes will cause seawater to penetrate the aquifers and make them unusable for ever,” he warned.

With this in mind, he called on the north’s authorities to “focus on giving importance to the incoming water [from Turkey] and strengthening our underground water resources by using them in the most efficient way, instead of advertising success by opening new wells.”