The dam of Arminou is the most discussed and probably the most beautiful dam in Cyprus. It is found 40 kilometres away from the town of Paphos, and a few kilometres northeast of the village of Arminou.
It is a dirt dam, with a maximal capacity of 4.3 million cubic metres of water. It has an embankment height of 40 metres and it creates a lake as big as 35 Ha. The drainage basin of the Diarizos river that ends in it is as big as 116 square kilometres.
The reason of existence of the dam is the main diversion of water towards the Kourris dam through a water pipe. The maximal amount of water that the pipe going to Kourris dam may contain 16 million cubic metres of water per year, while the capacity of the river at the point wher the dam is found is equal to 24 million cubic metres of water.
There is a controlled flow of water at the dam, aiming to enrich the downstream aquifer of the river, as well as the irrigation of the plantations that are found along the valley of Diarizos that reaches up to a distance of 40 kilometres.
The water that is “allowed” to run into the riverbed of Diarizos, on its way through the valley is reinforced by other sources such as the headwaters of Trozena, as well as other dozens of sources that are found in the area of Arsos. For many years, ever since the completion of the dam, the water never reached its estuary, which caused the reaction of many communities nearby. This year Diarizos transferred water at its estuaries for the first time.
The dam of Arminou has great responsibility for the change that is observed in the riparian ecosystems that existed and that at some point still exist along the whole length of the river. Old activists remember and talk about how beautiful the valley of Diarizos was before the construction of the dam.
It is possible that with the construction of the dam they created a very beautiful lade with an area of a few hectares, but they sure did change and in the future will destroy the most beautiful valley of Cyprus.
