Desalination in Cyprus
Most of the island's drinking water now comes from the sea. Desalinated water never reaches a dam: it goes straight into the drinking-water network, and every cubic metre of it is one the dams do not have to supply. This page tracks the plants, what they produce each week and what is planned.
Read: where Cyprus's water comes from, and where it goesCapacity in service
282,000
m³ a day: 5 permanent plants and 4 mobile units
Tap water from desalination
68%
in the week to 14 Sep, WDD weekly bulletin
Approved, net
+120,000
m³ a day more from four new permanent plants, due 2029–2031
Where the tap water came from, week by week
Drinking water produced each week by the desalination units and by the treatment plants that take water from the dams, m³ a day. Desalination's share fell from 76% in the week to 8 Jun to 68% in the week to 14 Sep. Only weeks with a published bulletin are shown; there is none for August.
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Cyprus Water Development Department, weekly «Δελτίο Νερού» workbooks, 2026 (plant output published from June). Treatment-plant output is mostly dam water; Tersefanou also treats some desalinated water from Vasilikos a second time.
Desalination and the dams take turns at the tap
Drinking water supplied by the Government Water Works each year, by source, mln. m³. When the dams are full the plants are throttled back: desalination was 76% of supply in 2016 and 33% in 2020. In 2024 it was 67%.
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Cyprus Water Development Department, «Πηγές Ύδρευσης» (water supply by source), 1997–2024. Tankers: water shipped from Greece in 2008–09.
Where the plants are
Squares are desalination plants, sized by capacity: solid ones are running, hollow ones are being built or tendered, dashed ones are approved. Faded markers are at approximate locations.
Every plant, running and planned
| Plant | Type | Capacity, m³/day | Status | Since / due | Last reported week, 14 Sep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dhekelia | Permanent | 60,000 | Operating | 1997 | 54,175 |
| Larnaca | Permanent | 60,000 | Operating | 2001 | 55,723 |
| Vasilikos | Permanent | 60,000 | Operating | 2014 | 57,195 |
| Episkopi | Permanent | 40,000 | Operating | 2014 | 33,920 |
| Paphos (Kouklia) | Permanent | 15,000 | Operating | 2021 | 20,754 |
| Moni | Mobile | 15,000 | Operating | 2025 | 12,223 |
| Kissonerga | Mobile | 12,000 | Operating | 2025 | 350 |
| Limassol port | Mobile | 10,000 | Operating | 2026 | 9,026 |
| Garyllis (brackish groundwater) | Mobile | 10,000 | Operating | 2026 | |
| Episkopi (temporary unit) | Mobile | 10,000 | Under construction | 2026 | |
| Vasilikos (temporary unit) | Mobile | 20,000 | Tender, not awarded | 2027 | |
| Mazotos | Mobile | 40,000 | Tender, not awarded | 2027 | |
| East Limassol (Monagroulli) | Permanent | 60,000 | Approved, not tendered | 2029 | |
| New Dhekelia | Permanent | 80,000 | Approved, not tendered | 2030 | |
| Agia Thekla | Permanent | 30,000 | Approved, not tendered | 2030 | |
| Polis Chrysochous | Permanent | 10,000 | Approved, not tendered | 2031 | |
| Germasogeia (floating unit) | Mobile | 20,000 | Postponed | – | |
| Ayia Napa | Mobile | 15,000 | Cancelled | – |
The new Dhekelia plant replaces the existing one, so it adds 20,000 m³ a day, not 80,000.
Sources: Cyprus Water Development Department (weekly «Δελτίο Νερού» bulletins and the «Πηγές Ύδρευσης» supply table), Audit Office of the Republic, cabinet and ministry announcements; plant locations from the Department of Lands and Surveys. Statuses are updated by hand as news arrives.