The supply and quality of urban water in arid island environments: a case study from the prefecture of Larnaka, Cyprus

摘要

In the present study, the residents of Larnaka Province in Cyprus assessed the quality and quantity of the water provided for urban use, the water supply network serving Larnaka city, and the adoption of water conservation methods. The survey was conducted using simple random sampling and included 426 individuals. The locals consider the water quality to be fair and the water consumption charges to be neither expensive nor inexpensive, while the majority disapprove of any increase to the water rates in relation to high consumption levels. People in Larnaka are fairly satisfied with the local water supply, and assess the water losses through the distribution network as being fair. Their three main sources of drinking water are tanks, bottled water and the mains water, with or without filtering. They do not consider operating an intermittent water supply system a useful measure and most of them have water storage tanks at home for mains water, but not for rainwater.