Evretou Dam

Evretou Dam is a rockfill dam in the Paphos district of western Cyprus, impounding the Stavros tis Psokas river a few kilometres upstream of the Chrysochou valley. Completed in 1986, the embankment rises 70 metres and holds back a reservoir with a capacity of 24 million cubic metres (MCM), making it by far the largest reservoir in the Chrysochou region and the largest rockfill dam on the island.

The dam was built primarily to supply irrigation water to the farmland of the Chrysochou valley around Polis, where citrus groves, vegetables and other crops depend on stored winter runoff to survive the long dry Cypriot summer. Together with the smaller Argaka, Pomos and Agia Marina reservoirs, it forms the backbone of the region's irrigation network.

Evretou is also known for what lies beneath and beside its waters. The reservoir took its name from the village of Evretou, a small Turkish-Cypriot community abandoned in the intercommunal upheavals of the twentieth century. When the valley was flooded, the deserted village ended up partly submerged on the reservoir's banks; its stone houses and mosque still stand at the water's edge, and in dry years more of the ruins emerge as the water level falls. The site has become a quiet landmark for hikers and photographers exploring the Paphos hinterland.