Troodos
The BINGO Cyprus team investigates climate-water issues in two watersheds along the semi-arid, northern slopes of the Troodos Mountains. In Peristerona Watershed the main problem is drought in the rural plains. Streamflow from the upstream areas recharges the groundwater resources downstream. In Pedieos Watershed the main problem is flooding in the downstream urban areas.
Map of Cyprus with the Troodos Mountains, Peristerona Watershed (yellow) and Pedieos Watershed (red).
Which sectors did it involve?
The BINGO research in Peristerona Watershed addresses the two main water uses: domestic water supply and agriculture. Community councils are responsible for domestic water supply, and water user associations and farmers manage irrigation water. Government authorities are responsible for water resources, policy and technical support. Sector organizations provide technical advice. In Pedieos Watershed flood hazards are an important concern for the water authority (WDD), which is responsible for the EU Flood Directive.
What was done?
The overall objective of BINGO research in was to observe and model current and future water resources and identify and assess adaptation options with stakeholders. Specific actions include:
- Realistic simulation of past rainfall extremes with the Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model
- Simulation of possible future rainfall extremes (2015-2024) from the global MiKLIP decadal prediction system
- Modelling of the extend of flooded areas in Pedieos Watershed for possible future extremes and different land use scenarios
- WRF-Hydro model parameterization with high resolution observational datasets for northern Troodos
- Establishment of a climate-water Community of Practice for downstream Peristerona Watershed
- Monitoring of forest water balance components and streamflow during hydrologically contrasting years
- Risk analysis for domestic water supply and irrigation in downstream Peristerona Watershed
- Multi-criteria assessment, cost-effectiveness, equity and governance analysis of four adaptation options.
Which were the main results?
Modelling results indicated that the number of drought years where public water supply will be constrained will increase to 15 drought years (53%) for the period 2020/21-2049/50 compared to 6 drought years (21%) for 1980/81-2009/10 (RCP 8.5 scenario). For irrigated agriculture, the number of drought years will increase from 20% to 53%, respectively. The maintenance of recharge check dams was found to be the most cost-effective solution for mitigating the effects of climate change on water resources.
What is BINGO’s legacy in Troodos?
- A high-resolution, dynamic climate downscaling methodology for Cyprus
- WRF-Hydro set-up for coupled climate-water modelling in Cyprus
- Improved capacity to conduct flood mapping studies for climate change and land use change scenarios
- Quantification of forest water balance components for northern Troodos hillslopes under different rainfall conditions
- Climate-Water Community of Practice, connecting community leaders, farmers, government officers, consultants and researchers
- Improved understanding of climate-water risks for community councils (domestic water supply) and irrigation associations (agriculture) through a risk analysis approach
- Methodology for identification and integrated assessment of climate adaptation measures, in close cooperation with stakeholders, to improve adoption.
- Cost effectiveness of four adaptation options: groundwater recharge check dams, desalinated water supply, irrigation scheduling, treated sewage water use for irrigation
- Motivation to develop an integrated probabilistic hydro-economic analysis to further improve the sustainable implementation of adaptation measures.
