Water Development Department

Qualitative and quantitative status of groundwater


Most aquifers in the island are pits and are developed at river side or coastal silt deposits. These are the largest and more dynamic aquifers which are mainly re-supplied from river flows and rainfall. There are three large riparian aquifers which include all vertical river beds. The coastal sections of these aquifers are composed of sand, sludge, limestone, sandstone and clay. River beds are composed of . These aquifers are pits and are around 30 m deep. In addition to the large and not that productive aquifer of the Troodos magmatic rocks, the other aquifers exist in gypsum, sandstone, limestone and chalk. These aquifers are mainly pits and in some section semi-permeable or under pressure. These sections are covered by layers of sludge and mud or by sandy marl. It has been observed that the aquifer of Troodos Mountains has generally developed on low permeability ophiolites and locally into medium permeable broken zones of magmatic rocks and this is why some of its sections are under pressure.

All aquifers in Cyprus (66) have been grouped into 22 systems of underground water, on the basis of the lithology, hydraulic characteristics, pressures and the use of each aquifer. Most underground water systems are pits with some semi permeable sections or under pressure. Only Maroni Gypsum is totally under pressure. Ten underground water systems are directly connected to the sea. The Limassol underground system outflows to the sea with an outflow reaching 350 m3/h. The outflow of the remaining systems is under 150 m3/h.

Livadhi-Fasouri wetland which is close to Akrotiri salt lake is the only ecosystem in Cyprus which is directly dependent on underground water and in particular, on the Akrotiri underground water system.

Reports and Maps



Reexamination, Review and Redefinition of the Underground water systems for 2nd River Basin Management Plan - July 2015
Assessment Reports of the chemical status of underground water
Assessment reports of the quantitative status of underground water
Assessment reports of the results of Ezousa Aquifer at the points where it is enriched with recycled water
Reports on the general characteristics of underground water systems
Maps of ground water contour of underground water level (iso piezometric maps) of coastal aquifers


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