On the other side of the dam you can see the overflow, on the right. Now obviously, they couldn't get rid of the water that way. There is in fact a tunnel at the foot of the dam. Presumably water came from the structure we saw and went out here.

There is still water flowing. This will be from the Mavrokolympos River itself. It starts up in Polemi. Well one of its sources does anyway. From there it flows past the petrol station on the B7 down through the Martiri Gorge below Koili. After that it amazes tourists at Adonis Baths before running into - and now through - the reservoir. From here it flows the short distance to the sea.

I imagine when they were emptying the reservoir there was a bit of a torrent running through here.

In the distance, on the right, you can see some familiar blue bags of a banana plantation. The Mavrokolympos Reservoir was built for the purpose of providing irrigation water for the local farmers. This consisted mainly of banana plantations, though a lot have since had villas built on them. Nevertheless, if the reservoir isn't fixed, they won't have a water supply later in the year, and the crops will no doubt suffer.

What next then, for this stretch of coast, and the reservoir? Will it get repaired speedily? Will it be able to refill in time for summer? How much rain have we had this winter anyway?

I can answer the last question easily enough. Back in October I wrote an article called Is Cyprus Running Out Of Water?. When I wrote that, the water level in the Asprokremmos Reservoir was 33%. The previous year it was 61%. Kouris was 25.7 and 46.3%.

Now, the Asprokremmos is on 27% and Kouris in on 21%. Unless we get a lot of rain, soon, there will be big problems later in the year. Matters were not helped when a fire destroyed the only desalination plant that Paphos has.

This is what the plant looked like, before it burnt down. I mean the white building in the distance. That has had its own chequered history. Once completed, it was subsequently decommisioned, presumably because the water was too expensive. Indeed, when I wrote an article on the Paphos Desalination Plant it was filed under Urban Exploring. It was only a few years ago that it re-opened.

There are plans for another desalination plant. Coincidentally, they want to build it in Potima Bay, which is the sea you can see in the picture behind the dam. Presumably it will go in the area of wasteland closer to Coral Bay than the Sea You Beach Bar end. Apparently some of the locals are not happy about it though. The Mayor of Kissonerga asked if it could be moved 100-150 metres inland. Given that water is piped to the plant rather than it relying on anything like tides, this doesn't seem unreasonable. The Mayor of the Akamas however (according to the press articles I read) wants it moved somewhere entirely different. This is because it will clash with the design of the new marina that will be built here.

It is difficult typing that without laughing, to be honest. Paphos Marina is the ultimate White Elephant project, but the article claimed it was due to be finished before 2030!

I can't understand the objection. You would that they would be keen to get as many desalination plants as they could, given the way global weather patterns are changing. And the plants don't look hideous. They just look like a white warehouse. Now, perhaps there is another reason. What happens to the salt that is extracted? If that is just dumped back in the sea I could see how that might affect Coral Bay and Corallia Beach, as it would presumably raise their salinity levels over time. But really, that area of wasteland before Coral Bay Strip is pretty much a perfect location for such a plant. Hopefully it will go ahead. Cyprus has a serious water issue at the moment. We need a lot of rain.