Water Bills and Water Cuts in Cyprus: Tariffs, Tanks and Saving Water (2026)

Your water bill in Cyprus comes from your district's local government organisation (EOA), and it is charged in rising consumption bands: the more you use, the more each cubic metre costs. Water cuts are announced locally by your EOA, and many homes have a storage tank that keeps the taps running when the mains is off. Here we explain the tariffs, how to read and pay the bill, what happened in the 2025–2026 drought, how to look after your tank and how to cut your use.

If you have just moved in and still need to open an account in your name, start with our guide to setting up electricity and water. This page picks up from there.

Who sends your water bill in Cyprus?

Under the local government reform, the old water boards (such as the Limassol, Nicosia and Larnaca water boards) were folded into five district local government organisations, or EOAs, on 1 July 2024. Each EOA now runs water supply and sewerage in its main urban areas:

If you live in a village outside these networks, your community council may still supply and bill your water. The bill header always names the issuer, so check it before you call anyone.

How much does water cost in Cyprus?

Tiered tariffs per cubic metre

Water is measured in cubic metres (m³); one cubic metre is 1,000 litres. Every supplier uses tiered tariffs: a first band of consumption is cheap and each band above costs more. You also pay fixed charges even if you use nothing.

EOA Lemesos publishes its full table. As of 2026, domestic customers in the Limassol district pay, per four-month billing period:

VAT at 5% is added. Large families (four or more children up to the age of 22) get wider bands: 41–100 m³ at €1.43, 101–160 m³ at €2.45 and €5.00 only above 160 m³. A 10% surcharge applies to water charges (excluding VAT) left unpaid after the due date, and EOA Lemesos warns that unpaid bills can lead to disconnection.

As an example from that table, a household using 60 m³ in four months pays €22 in fixed charges, €36 for the first 40 m³ and €28.60 for the next 20 m³: €86.60 before VAT. Use 140 m³ and the top band alone adds €100. That is why a leak or a summer of garden watering hurts so much.

The other EOAs set their own bands and billing periods, so check your bill or ask your EOA for its current table. In February 2026 the government said all five EOAs had committed to uniform water rates, with "punitive" charges of up to €10 per m³ for the heaviest users (against a current top rate of €5), pending legal review and interior ministry approval. As of October 2026 these new charges were not yet in force.

Sewerage charges

If your home is connected to the central sewerage system, you pay two separate sewerage charges in the Limassol district:

• A sewerage usage fee per cubic metre of water, charged to the occupant and shown on the water bill. EOA Lemesos's fees table lists it at €0.64 per m³ from 1 July 2024 (its FAQ page writes "0.64 cents", so check the line on your bill).
• An annual sewerage and stormwater levy charged to the registered owner on 1 January, based on the property's 2021 valuation by the Department of Lands and Surveys. The stormwater part is €0.086 per €1,000 of value for 2023–2026. Bills go out once a year by email only, so owners must register an email address and mobile number. The 2025 deadline was extended to 27 February 2026, and late payment adds 10%.

If you rent, the levy is normally the owner's, while the usage fee comes with your water bill. Our guide to renting in Cyprus explains what to agree in the contract.

How do you read the bill and the meter?

A water bill shows your account number, the meter number, the previous and current readings, consumption split by tariff band, the fixed charges, the sewerage usage fee where it applies, VAT, the total and the due date. In Limassol, consumption is recorded every four months, and EOA Lemesos maintains and replaces the meters.

Your meter is usually in a box at the boundary wall or the pavement, or in a shared cabinet in apartment buildings. The black digits show whole cubic metres; red digits or dials show litres.

Leak check: turn off every tap and appliance, photograph the reading, wait at least an hour without using water and read it again. If the numbers have moved, you have a leak, most often a toilet cistern, an outside tap, a tank's float valve or a pipe under the floor. Fix it quickly: with tiered tariffs, leaks are expensive.

How do you pay a water bill?

• Online or at the EOA office: EOA Lemesos accepts payments at its offices (66–76 Franklin Roosevelt Avenue, Limassol) and online; its water supply page links to the payment options. Other EOAs list their own methods on the bill.
• At the post office: Cyprus Post takes EOA Limassol water and sewerage payments at Limassol district post offices with no extra charge. Bring the bill on paper or on your phone with its QR code visible, pay the full amount in cash or by card (no cheques), and give a phone number. Payments are accepted after the due date, but the late surcharge still applies.

Is there a drought and will there be water cuts?

What happened in 2025 and 2026

Cyprus had its third consecutive drought year in 2025. In March 2025 reservoirs were at 25% and the Water Development Department (WDD) named Limassol and Paphos as most at risk of summer interruptions. By January 2026 reserves had fallen to about 10%, the cabinet approved a €31 million emergency package, farmers were told to expect 30% less irrigation water, and households were asked to cut use by 10%, which the agriculture minister put at about two fewer minutes of running water a day.

In February 2026 the WDD denied plans to cut mains water on set days or hours, saying no decision had been made on a supply schedule. Instead, the government reduced the water it delivers to the EOAs by 10% and asked them to manage demand through leak repairs and restrictions. Larnaca's EOA, for example, cut supply to green spaces and irrigation plots, stepped up leak repairs and increased inspections for hose use on pavements, verandas and cars under the Water Conservation Law.

A wet winter then helped. Reservoirs held 39.6% of capacity on 4 May 2026 (23% a year earlier) and 38.2% on 24 August 2026, more than double the 15.1% of August 2025. On 2 October 2026, the Larnaca and Famagusta reservoirs were all fuller than a year earlier, although Achna was still only 5.6% full.

Desalination

Desalination now supplies around 80% of the island's drinking water, and in June 2026 the agriculture minister said it should cover almost all household demand from 2027. Thirteen mobile units donated by the UAE were reserved for Limassol from 2025, with a planned output of 15,000 m³ a day, and temporary units bridge the gap until four permanent plants are finished, expected in 2029. The minister said desalination had helped avoid household water cuts. Planned maintenance still causes short cuts: in February 2026 work at the Dhekelia plant reduced supply in Larnaca, Nicosia and Famagusta for three days.

How are water cuts announced?

Local interruptions are announced by your EOA. EOA Lemesos posts every fault and planned cut on its faults and scheduled interruptions page, with the streets affected and an estimated restoration time; in October 2026 it listed a fault-related cut almost every working day, plus a planned interruption in the Ariel area on 21 October for network replacement. Limassol is also replacing 100 km of city-centre pipes, a project that began on 6 August 2026. Local media report cuts too, such as the Ayios Athanasios interruption of 17 September 2026. Bookmark your EOA's page and ask your building manager to share notices.

Why do Cypriot homes have water tanks?

Many houses and apartment blocks store water in a rooftop tank, often next to the solar water heater, or an underground tank with a pump. The mains fills the tank through a float valve and the home draws from it, so taps keep running during a short interruption. Larnaca's EOA reminded residents in January 2026 that apartment buildings must have a storage tank of at least 800 litres and working pumps.

Pumps and pressure

• A rooftop tank feeds the taps by gravity, so pressure can be weak in top-floor showers; a small booster pump with a pressure vessel fixes this.
• An underground tank always needs a pump, which stops in a power cut, so keep some bottled water in reserve.
• A pump that switches on at night with no water in use points to a leak.

Cleaning and maintenance

1. Clean the tank at least once a year, or sooner if the water looks cloudy or smells: drain it, remove sediment, disinfect and rinse. Plumbers and tank-cleaning firms offer this.
2. Keep the lid tight so insects, birds and dust stay out; an open tank is also a mosquito breeding site.
3. Check the float valve. A stuck valve overflows and wastes water you pay for.
4. Replace a rusting metal tank with a food-grade plastic one.

If you rent, agree in writing who is responsible for the tank and pump.

Are there grants for boreholes, greywater or saving water?

As of October 2026 there was no open grant for households to install greywater recycling or drill a borehole. Boreholes need a licence: the WDD has handled licensing since 2010 and reports about 137,548 licensed boreholes, and in September 2026 auditors said the state still cannot measure how much groundwater is actually pumped. A bill before Parliament would bring in regular permit reviews.

What households did get in 2026 was free water-saving fittings. Under the agriculture ministry's "Water for Tomorrow" campaign, launched in March 2026, three million tap aerators and shower flow restrictors were ordered for distribution by post; the ministry says they can cut use by up to 30%. Paphos and Famagusta were fully covered by 5 August 2026 and nationwide distribution was expected to be complete by mid-September. You can confirm installation through the gov.cy "Notification for Installation of Aerators" service, and if your kit never arrived, similar fittings are inexpensive in hardware shops. For energy grants such as the solar water heater subsidy, see our guide to sustainable living in Cyprus.

How can you save water at home in Cyprus?

Average use in Cyprus is about 140 litres per person a day, above the EU average of about 125 litres, and the campaign's goal is to bring it down to 125. Practical steps:

• Keep showers to five minutes and fit the free flow restrictor or a low-flow shower head.
• Fit aerators on every tap.
• Fix leaks the same week: a running cistern can waste far more than you use.
• Use a dual-flush cisternOr put a filled bottle in an old single-flush one.
• Run the washing machine and dishwasher fullOn eco programmes.
• Water the garden early morning or late evening with drip irrigation, and choose drought-tolerant plants instead of lawn.
• Cover the pool to cut evaporation and check it for leaks.
• Sweep, don't hose verandas, pavements and cars: hose use is restricted under the Water Conservation Law, and Larnaca's EOA, for one, has stepped up inspections.
• Track your use with the government's Stagono-metro app, promoted by the campaign, or by reading your meter monthly.

What to do next

Find your EOA in the table above, bookmark its interruptions page and set up a regular way to pay. Read your meter once to check for leaks, and if you live in a house, book a tank clean before the summer. For hot-weather planning, see our guide to summer in Cyprus, and for household running costs, our cost of living in Cyprus guide.