The small dam in the Lefka township which is occupied by the Turkish forces, is built on the ‘road’ of the Setrachos river which traverses the Marathasa valley.
The river’s waters, were from the Ottoman empire, the ‘bone of contention’ between the residents of the villages that it crossed.
In periods when rainfall was very little, the running water was not enough to cover the needs of the Pedoulas, Moutoullas, Kalopanagiotis, Oikou and Lefka villages. For this reason, many murders were made.
During the Ottoman empire, the Lefka residents, who, it should be noted, were Greek Cypriot masses that converted to islam, terrorised the settlers of the other villages, and this is how the Setrachos waters flew toward Lefka.
After the Ottoman empire, things changed and the water was divided between all the villages. The Turks of Cyprus did not like this, and went to court. Trials lasted for more than 80 years and in the end, fairness was accredited to the Greek residents of Marathasa.
The tensions between the villages ended for good, after the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, which created many dams in all rivers of the country, with its irrigation policy.
The water problem in Cyprus was solved once and for all in 2012 with the accomplishment of all the desalination stations.
