Dried up lakes and thirsty trees – trucks of water keep Greek olive trees alive

Six weeks before the harvest, there is no groundwater left in the olive grove of farmer Dimitris Papadakis.

So he begins what has become a morning routine. Together with his teenage son, he uses a tanker to transport water from surrounding areas, he attaches the water tank to the irrigation system to save what is left of the olive trees.

– Our boreholes have almost dried up. Now we depend on tankers to irrigate our fields, says Papadakis, who heads an agricultural cooperative in a village in Halkidiki, the three fingers of the Aegean Sea southeast of Thessaloniki.

Record hot

This summer, the southern part of Europe has been hit by one heat wave after another, while for three years in a row there has been less rainfall than usual. More and more areas are drying up, and in Greece the extreme weather has led to water shortages and dried up lakes. It has even killed wild horses.

Greece has never before recorded a heat wave as early as this year. At the beginning of June, temperatures reached 44 degrees in some places, and then there were scorching periods in July, which became the hottest month ever recorded in the country.

The groundwater under Papadakis’ 270 olive trees is decreasing and now contains salt. The drought makes the harvest expected to be halved.

Tourists – income and burden

Halkidiki is also a popular tourist destination, and an important source of income for the local population. But it also makes the drought worse.

In Kassandra, the westernmost of the three fingers, there are approximately 17,000 permanent residents. In summer, the population increases to 650,000, which leads to an unsustainable strain on water resources.

– We have experienced a reduction in the water supply of 30-40 per cent after three consecutive winters with almost no rainfall, says Mayor Anastasia Halkia.

As a result of the water shortage, rationing has been introduced. It has changed everyday life for Haroula Psaropoulou, who owns a home in the coastal village of Nea Potidea. The water supply to households is often cut off, a measure that can last up to five days when it is at its hottest.

– I reuse water from the bathroom and wash water to irrigate the plans. I have also carried water from the sea to the toilet, she says.

Threatens wild horses

According to the EU’s crisis management agency, there is now an acute drought in an area that stretches from the coast of the Black Sea into northern Greece. Along the river Evros, which forms the border between Greece and Turkey, this means that the delta contains more sea water. The extra salt content kills wild horses that use the river for drinking water.

– If the horses go without water for a week, they die, says Nikos Mousounakis. He leads a project that will provide new sources of fresh water for the horses.

– Some of them are still in a bad condition, but we hope they will recover with continued help, he says.

Until recently, Lake Pikrolimni north of Thessaloniki was a popular destination for mud baths. But this summer it’s just a dried-up area of ​​cracked soil, so dry that the ground won’t even yield to the weight of a car.

– It hasn’t rained for two years now, so the lake is completely dry, says the leader of the municipal council, Kostas Partsis.

– It used to have a lot of water. People came and bathed in the muddy water. The clay has therapeutic properties for many ailments. This year, no one came, he says.

Not far away is Lake Doirani on the border between Greece and North Macedonia. Here, the water’s edge has receded 300 meters in recent years.

Worse in the future

According to researchers, major changes are needed in the way water resources are managed in order to mitigate the consequences of climate change.

– We are experiencing a long period of drought that has lasted for around three years now, as a result of less rain and snow, a result of the climate crisis and poor water management, says Konstantinos S. Voudouris, professor of hydrogeology at the University of Thessaloniki.

– The solution lies in three words: Savings, storage and reuse, he states.

He believes that old water systems mean that too much water is lost, and that upgrading the infrastructure must ensure that rainwater can be collected and stored when rainfall occurs. In addition, wastewater must be able to be reused in agriculture.

– These drought phenomena will become even more intense in the future. We need to act and plan ahead to reduce the impact, and we need to adapt to this new reality, says Voudouris.