Water from Turkey to North Cyprus started flowing again on Tuesday

Water supply from Turkey to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus started flowing again on Tuesday afternoon after repairs to the water pipeline has been completed. 

The pipeline was damaged at the start of the year due to severe weather conditions. The repair work required new high-density polyethylene pipes and their supports to replace damaged ones. 

The water which will be pumped directly to the treatment facility in the TRNC is expected to start flowing from taps within the next 24 hours.

The repairs on the pipeline had been initially planned to be completed by September 25 but had been hit by a series of delays due to bad weather conditions at sea. 

Inaugurated by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2015, the 107km long pipeline dubbed the ‘Project of the Century’ is an incredible, first-of-its-kind feat of engineering. Never before has water been carried for such a distance using a suspended underwater pipeline. The technique, while pioneering, also gave engineers unique transport challenges, as water travels differently to gas and oil. 

Fresh water is less dense than sea water and has a tendency to float. So instead of placing the pipes some 1,400 metres below sea level, engineers on the project decided to create a floating structure for the 80km distance the pipes travel underwater. When fully operational, the pipeline will deliver 75 million cubic meters of water annually to the TRNC, meeting all of the water needs of Turkish Cypriots. 

Approximately half of the water will be used for irrigation, the rest as drinking water. 

BRT