SEWERAGE BOARD OF PAPHOS

[tonee]

Hi
Dee,you say"roads cannot be blocked off whist work is in progress"(sewerage). Many roads were blocked off and I know of one street where their cars were marooned on the driveways!

[Enlightened]

I have a house in Tala and can’t really see how they are going to put in sewage there. The house is on the side of a steep hill and the main road we turn into to get out of our road is quite steep as well, we would need a pump to pump the sewage either up or down (depending on where they (SAPA) are going to shift it to). As yet it appears that there are no plans; our neighbours who live above us have had their invoice but we haven’t had one as yet; maybe they have decided only to bill people on the main road and leaving the rest of us alone!!

Rita

[Jim B]

Dee

I install and commission control systems that automatically control the operation of Oil Refinery’s Chemical Plants, Power Stations Nuclear Missile Factories (Aldermaston), Oil Platforms and oh yes; Sewage Systems to name but a few. I spent a number of years working for NWW which includes in its area the very hilly Pennines, the Lake District; the Peak District and some of North Wales and had to work closely with the people who actually installed the sewers and drinking water supplies so I thought I had a good understanding how these systems work.

I don’t understand your point about Tala not being on the Coast; neither are Manchester, Leeds or Birmingham and they I believe have adequate sewage systems; believe me very little sewage is pumped directly into the sea these days. As a person who has spent all his working life on construction projects I was personally surprised how quickly the Contractors installed the sewage system throughout Paphos and surrounding area’s but of course many armchair Engineers think differently. If you look at old photographs of the systems being installed in the UK the same inconvenience was caused and went on for many years, digging up and closing roads. You must know of course that a hole in the road cannot be back filled and then asphalted immediately due to settlement that is why everywhere (even the UK) only a temporary covering is put on the excavation until any subsidence has finished. There are many consultant companies for this kind of work in the UK and the Cypriots are not afraid to use them.

Jim

[Ageing Rocker]

All very interesting, but the simple fact remains that us residents of Tala neither want nor need a disruptive and costly sewerage system with vast payments sinking into a big hole somewhere! We are quite happy with what we already have.

[alewfin]

Jim,

Whilst there are doubts about the technicalities of putting in a sewerage system in difficult topographical places like Peyia, Tala and Kamares but given the engineering expertise in many countries (but not so sure about Cyprus) it would appear feasible but that is not the real bone of contention.

I'm sure the residents of Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham were not asked to pay for a system that had yet to be built or even thought through. And I doubt those same residents didn't have to pay to have their gardens dug up or cover the cost to buy a pumping station for themselves.

[Jim B]

alewfin and AR

I'm not questioning your reasons about whether you want a system or not I'm just replying to posters who said it wasn't possible to install one in Tala or Peya and from experience I know it is no matter what the topograhy is like. The point about the cities in the UK being raised was that it was stated that Tala wasn't on the coast implying (I thought) that a city or town has to be on the coast to have an operating system which is not the case; nothing to do with paying in advance.

Jim

[emgee]

Just a thought.

We pay our Pegeia Municipality Bills via our Bank system. If the Municipality issues us with a "sewerage invoice", then our Bank will automatically pay it on the due date. I am going to write to the bank today, cancelling this arrangement.

Alan

[kili1]

Jim B,
You seem worried about my comment that Tala is not on the coast- indeed it is not! My point is that the need to prevent sewerage draining into the sea is much more critical ini towns, villages and any developments which are on or close to the sea, which is why the coastal area around Paphos needed mains sewage disposal as a priority. Inland villages which are not densely developed and which already have their own sewage disposal arrangements are a different scenario.
If a mains sewage system was to be attempted in Tala and parts of Peyia, surely to employ a first class contractor and install high tech infrastructure will be colossally expensive and who will pay?. This cash strapped "banana style" country has no money for such expensive projects.
Surely, there are far more important projects which would benefit the Paphos area. The Markideon Theatre we are told is about to collapse and needs a major overhaul, there are public buildings which are desperately in need of repair and renovation and Paphos is supposed to become a European city of culture in 2017!Paphos needs all the money it can get to smarten itself up.
Against more pressing matters how important is it to throw money at installing an un necessary and unwanted sewage system in Tala, or probably in Peyia as well?
And why should residents have to pay large sums of money which can be ill afforded in advance for such things?
Dee

[kili1]

Tonee,
Your comment about roads being blocked off previously by the contractors who were installing the sewage system in villages like Chloraka was what I was thinking about. If you read my post, I explained that in some places there, people may be able to access their homes from more than one direction. That is not the case in many parts of Kamares. If familiar with the area you would surely realise that the terrain is very steep and rocky and many home are near to ravines. This makes it crucial that not only residents, but also emergency services vehicles must be able to get through to homes by road. In case of fire, serious illness or a natural disaster such as an earthquake. God forbid!
Having seen the modus operandii of the contractor displayed when the sewerage system near Paphos was being installed when roads were dug up, put down, subsided and all this went on for months and months,such work practices would make installing a system in Kamares a total night mare for all concerned!
Dee

[Rav4man]

Kili1 - you comment in your post that the sewage system in Peyia and Tala is unwanted. It was only put onto the Sewage Boards agenda when there was a considerable clamour for it a few years ago when the plans showed that neither area was within the scope of the existing plans which residents within the previous planned area had been paying for quite a few years.

[Ageing Rocker]

Kili1 - you comment in your post that the sewage system in Peyia and Tala is unwanted. It was only put onto the Sewage Boards agenda when there was a considerable clamour for it a few years ago when the plans showed that neither area was within the scope of the existing plans which residents within the previous planned area had been paying for quite a few years.

Not true - that may have applied to Peyia (if my memory serves me correctly) but it most certainly did NOT apply to Tala!

[Rigsby]

It was only put onto the Sewage Boards agenda when there was a considerable clamour for it a few years ago when the plans showed that neither area was within the scope of the existing plans which residents within the previous planned area had been paying for quite a few years.

They both made a big fuss, but they have gone back to UK now

[JOPLIC]

We are going back to the uk this weekend for a few weeks so don't want to fall foul of the payment deadline. It's not clear on the bill where you go to pay - can anybody advise please? Thanks in anticipation.

[Rigsby]

This morning I received a reply from the Sewage Board.
They say "Peyia Municipality entered the Sewerage Board of Pafos (SBP) by a Minister’s Degree in 2010. According to the legislation all property owners in the areas within the boundaries of the SBP must pay sewerage taxation based on the property’s value given by the Land Registry office (Article 30 N1(I)/71)."

So they are raising tax on an item that has not been approved by either the President, full cabinet or the plenum. Interesting because a friend has got a lawyers opinion that taxation must be approved by the Plenum. I am continuing to see this as an invitation to make a voluntary contribution. My Cypriot neighbours just laugh

[Mike Strand]

So they are raising tax on an item that has not been approved by either the President, full cabinet or the plenum.

Is it "taxation"? I would have thought it was a charge for a service, albeit one that won't be in place until 2016-18 (subject to no delays)

[keving]

The SBP website refers to money collected (based on 1980 property values) as being "sewerage fees"

[Mike Strand]

It looks as though the word 'taxation' has been translated incorrectly from the Greek & it should have been 'fees' as keving says.

[tsadapeter]

I have been observing this conservation for a while and I am amazed.

60% of all water used in the Republic is ground water. Our sewage until now goes straight into the groundwater.
How can anyone argue against having sewerage properly collected and treated? Water is the most valuabel resource for life. Pegeia and Tala and ... and ... are no longer sparsely populated rural backwaters where the total amount of waste may be negligeable. We are talking urban Areas.

If one agrees that sewerage should be collected and treated, the the question is: Who should pay for it? The obvious answer is: Those who create the waste. Making homeowners pay is a proxy for exactly that. That is the way it is done in most countries.

Should they pay already during the project phase? Yes, of course they should. Who else should pay? All tax payers? Should the general public subsidise home owners? Surely not.

Of course, local and expatriates have to be treated equally. And payment must be enforced.

[lofos-jan]

Tsada Peter, I think you may not have the whole story. Certainly for Tala, it is generally accepted that the status quo could not remain indefinitely - no-one is under the illusion that it can. The problem is that the service provider may not be providing the best system and in-depth feasibility studies have not been undertaken for potential alternative options. The council have been looking into all options such as individual treatment units. These worked out at a cost of around €1,500 - €1,700 if I remember the figure correctly and may not be cost effective in the longer term but there are other options that differ from that offered by SAPA and they are currently investigating those that will meet the minimum requirements laid down by the EU. It is more a case of having the freedom and time to do it right rather than take (and start paying for MANY years in advance) for the one and only system by the one and only provider that is currently on the table.

Jeanne

[tsadapeter]

Ok, so the exitement is not about whether home owners pay and it is not about whether they already pay now?
Good to hear. So the Board will collect a sizeable amount of money early on and will not have to resort to public debt when the project Begins in earnest.
In this case they should be encouraged to study all options carefully, even if it takes time and even if people pay quite some money before being connected to the service.
Thanks for the clarification.

[lofos-jan]

Yes. Personally speaking, I am quite prepared to pay in advance for the right project and system for the village with exact and transparent costings/accounts and with a known start and completion timeframe. So far we have nil out of three.

Jeanne

[gazandroy]

Hi

Our apartment is in Chlorakas and our Committee has been in discussions with SAPA (The Sewerage Company of Paphos) and been informed that as we are not connected to the mains, because SAPA have not done the pump station yet, we do not have to pay the quarterly bill based on consumption. We do still have to pay the annual one.

However, whenever individuals go to the office they deny the discussions have taken place and insist the bills are due even though we are not using the service.

We have lodged objections and are awaiting confirmation, so that those who have paid can claim back a refund.