In January 2019, the Cyprus Mail reported that large parts of Cyprus had no tap water after days of storms. Churned-up seawater full of seaweed, sand and mud overwhelmed the filters at the Larnaca plant, while the Dhekelia plant ran at reduced output. Nicosia, Larnaca and Famagusta were affected. Nicosia water board director Nikos Zampakides said the district got 1,300 m³ per hour against a need of 2,000 m³, about 31,200 instead of 48,000 m³/d. Plant director Eirineios Koutsakos denied any damage.
The report showed how heavily supply around Nicosia then relied on a few coastal plants, and that sediment stirred up by a single storm could push seawater pretreatment to its limits.
Source: Cyprus Mail (Kopie im Webarchiv)