Republic of Cyprus Second Voluntary National Report - Sustainable development goals

63 CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION SDG 6 | Ensure availability and sustainable management ofwater and sanitation for all EU RANK TREND SANITATION Population Having Neither a Bath, nor a Shower, nor Indoor Flushing Toilet in Their Household 14 WATER QUALITY Biochemical Oxygen Demand in Rivers 15 Nitrate (Νο3) in Groundwater 12 Bathing Sites with Excellent Water Quality 1 WATER USE EFFICIENCY Water Exploitation Index, Plus (Wei+) 26 : Note: Data comes from the Statistical Service of Cyprus. EU rank presents the rank of Cyprus among the EU member states, for the most recent available year. Trend presents the 10-year trend from 2010-2019. Pos, Neg, Neg-Pos, and, Pos-Neg indicate a positive, a negative, a U-shape and an inverse U-shape trend, respectively. Green arrows indicate an improvement in the performance of Cyprus and red arrows indicate a decline in the performance of Cyprus. indicates a constant trend. : indicates that the trend is not calculated, because less than 8 years of data are available. Highlights – 2020 • Cyprus is among the EU Member States with the least available water per capita. • Cyprus remains vulnerable to climate change due to droughts and water scarcity. • Cyprus offers excellent quality of drinking water. • Cyprus bathing waters are the best in Europe with a percentage of 99.1% compliance with the criteria set for excellent quality. • Government initiatives aim to continuously improve the reliability of the water sources for domestic and irrigation uses. • The use of non-conventional water resources, such as desalination units and water reuse, are being promoted to address and improve the reliability of the water sources for domestic and irrigation uses. Covid Response • The pandemic had a rather positive impact on the challenge of water supply, due to the sharp decline in tourism activities. • This decrease in water demand consequently led to less desalinated water, thus protecting the environment from a highly polluting activity. Looking Ahead • Climate change is exacerbating the country’s need to improve water management processes. • Key projects are underway: Two domestic water supply projects, two projects for recycledwater, and three master plans as a stable resource used for irrigation and recharge of aquifers to manage seawater intrusion, or for later abstraction for irrigation use are under way. • Compliance with the EU Water Framework Directive & the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. • Strengthening the resilience of the aquatic ecosystem in order to adapt to climate change.