CRETAN DRINKING WATER GUSHES TO CYPRUS

As thousands of local residents continue to suffer through another long hot summer of rationed water, two huge tanker ships filled with the precious liquid set sail from Crete to Cyprus in order to deal with that island’s severe water shortage. The ships, each loaded with 40,000 cubic meters of fresh water from Cretan reservoirs, were the first in an on-going armada of ships traveling daily between the two Mediterranean islands as part of a deal to supply Cyprus with a total of 8 million cubic meters of water by November 15. “I’m not against helping our neighbours in a time of need,” said one disgruntled resident, as he lugged a 20-litre water jug from the public fountain in Kato Gouves to his home in Gournes. “But I really think we should take care of ourselves, too. It’s ridiculous to live like this when we have so much water that we can sell it to other places.” Hundreds of homes throughout the townships are receiving water only every third day, and in some cases it is reported people have been without water for more than a week at a time. Cyprus, which is heavily reliant on rainfall for water supplies, is suffering one of the worst droughts and water shortages of the past 100 years, officials claim. The Mediterranean island's 109 reservoirs are only seven percent full, containing 19.7 million cubic meters of water and Cyprus' largest dam, the Kouri, is expected to run dry in the next few months. According to officials, the cut in water supplies during this period means Cypriot households will have running water for eight hours every two days to refill deposits, which is a similar schedule to the one in our area – except when it is extended to eight or nine days!

Wave bon voyage to Cretan drinking water as it departs on a one-way cruise to Cyprus in tanker ships like this

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