A few rains
Many tourist areas have already started the season with empty reservoirs due to the limited rainfall, while any wells “extract” brackish water. As he explains to “ET” of Sunday, meteorologist Kostas Lagouvardos, director of research at the National Observatory of Athens, “the areas that had limited rainfall, from October 2023 to May 2024, are the Cyclades, the eastern Peloponnese, Attica, as well as areas of the south and eastern Crete. The last good year for the Aegean was 2019, with lots of rain in the east and south. Since then rainfall has been below average. We observe that in 2023 the rainfall was reduced by 30%-40% compared to the average of the period 1991-2020”.
Snow cover
In addition to the limited rainfall, the very small percentage of snow cover should also be taken into account. According to the data of the National Observatory of Athens/meteo.gr, only three or four bad winter weathers managed to exceed the average percentage of snow cover in Greece. Chronologically, the first snow occurred in late November 2023, the second in mid-late December 2023, and the remaining two in January 2024, when the highest percentage of snow cover (22%) was recorded for the winter of 2023-2024.
“When it rains a little, after the subsoil is saturated, after our aquifers have taken water, later the water will start running on the surface. When we have torrential rains, this is to the detriment of the surface water because it all ends up in the sea and to the detriment of the soils, because they are subject to erosion, while nothing goes into the underground water and the aquifers are not fed. In recent years, and not only in Greece, but in the Mediterranean, the rapidity of rainfall has increased. And that’s why we have floods. And something else has been observed again, not only in Greece, but also in Europe. Snow days have decreased. Snow is the best feeder of ground and surface water. It’s the shock absorber. This year and last year we have a dramatic reduction in snow days”, he points out to “ET”. on Sunday, Panagiotis Sambatakakis, PhD in Hydrogeology and member of the International Association of Hydrogeologists, explaining the main reason for the lack of water.
Alarm
The General Secretariat of Civil Protection has already declared a state of emergency in 14 municipalities. Among them are five municipalities of Crete, Serifos, Sifnos, Leros, Poros, Spetses, the Municipality of Sami in Kefalonia, as well as areas in Corinth, Alexandroupoli and Xanthi.
Serious problems are also faced in Corfu, where we have continuous water interruptions, in Karpathos, where the authorities have imposed restrictions on the filling of swimming pools, while in Thassos the authorities are looking for a desalination plant to make the sea water drinkable.
The lack of water is also severe in Naxos. The island’s two reservoirs hold 220,000 cubic meters (7.7 million cubic feet) of usable water, a third of last year’s level.
The residents of Eastern Macedonia are experiencing difficult situations due to the lack of water. In areas such as the Municipality of Kato Nevrokopi, the most acute problem of water shortage is dealt with by interruptions in the water supply.
“The large aquifer plain areas that need water are under pressure, such as Thessaly, the plain of Laconia, the plain of Messara in Crete, but also the plain of Arta. The solution is to create a strategic plan because already the droughts, which have followed each other for the last 40 years, have rung the bell, combined with the ever-growing needs. In short, all the coastal zones are under pressure in terms of irrigation and all our coastal tourist areas”, says Mr. Sambatakakis.
No surprise
Christos Karavitis, dean of the School of Environmental and Agricultural Engineering of the Agricultural University of Athens and professor of Water Resources Management, does not hide his words when he says that we are in an unfavorable hydrological situation, which should not surprise anyone. “Water scarcity is a permanent feature of the Mediterranean climate, from Portugal to Cyprus, at this time. And that’s because it doesn’t rain from the end of May to the end of September. We must save water during the rainy season, from October to May,” he tells “ET.” of Sunday.
Referring to the Cyclades and the islands of the SE. of the Aegean, who currently have to deal with the increase in tourists, notes that due to the fact that there are many water-bearing activities, the water resources are not sufficient. “A tourist, who will come to Amorgos or Leros, which are beautiful islands, but less endowed with water, then we will find that just for his bath he will need 300 liters a day. So think about what happens in Paros, for example, when the population these days increases fivefold and from 15,000 in the winter to 75,000. We should estimate that our tourist needs for water are 300 to 450 liters each day per person. And if water reservoirs have been built in Paros or Naxos, they are not sufficient and measures should be taken.”
Attica
As for Attica, which in the 1990s faced the greatest risk of water shortage, it is supplied by the Evinos, Mornos dams and also has the Ylikis. “Attica has approximately 700 million cubic meters of water reserves. We waste about 1 million cubic meters per day, so we have water for 1.5-2 years. If it doesn’t rain from October and after the winter, then we should be worried”, points out Mr. Karavitis. However, EYDAP, with advertising spots, has already started to inform consumers about a reduction in water waste.
THE METHOD OF DESALATION
“Immediate action must be taken”
Both Mr. Karavitis and Mr. Sambatakakis, speaking to “ET” of Sunday, they are categorical: “Immediate measures must be taken”. As the experts say, in addition to the traditional ones, which are dams and artificial reservoirs, which depending on the area can be applied, the method of desalination, using renewable energies for their operation, should be seriously considered, especially for the islands . Mr. Sambatakakis, in fact, explained that comprehensive studies must first be done, depending on each region. “Studies need to be updated. Let’s see what our irrigation and water supply needs are and see what infrastructure choices we will make. Because we have to do something else in Thessaly, another in Laconia, another in the Cyclades.”
In a meeting held at Megaros Maximos, in the previous days, measures to be taken were discussed, such as replacement of old networks, in order to avoid water leaks as much as possible, construction of reservoirs, desalination units, etc.
AGIOS KONSTANTINOS, Fthiotida
In the courts for transportation of water by truck
The nightmare of the lack of water reaches… Justice, in Agios Konstantinos Fthiotidas. A few days ago, on the initiative of the Municipality of Kameni Vourla, water began to be transferred to the municipal tank. The way the water was transported, however, caused a “war” to break out, because the water was transported by truck in a black plastic container. The residents were concerned about its suitability, as a result of which the Police were called to request the necessary certificates, which the Municipality officials reserved to provide in a second year.
Complaint
The case reached the Court of Justice, as the cardiologist and former mayor Ioannis Sykiotis filed a complaint against the current mayor of Kameno Vourlon Ilias Kyrmanidis and two councilors. In it he notes that for the last six months there has been a problem with the sufficiency of the water that supplies the municipal reservoir, from which the municipal apartment is watered, which water, in addition to other uses, is also intended for drinking.
“Because of my previous capacity as mayor, but also because of my professional activity, since I work as a doctor, I know that the transport of water, which is intended for human consumption (how much), must be done strictly under specific conditions and by means that meet specific specifications, in order to avoid risks to the health of consumers”, he points out, adding that when he arrived at the scene, he saw a truck owned by the municipality, on which a black plastic tank had been placed, emptying the contents of the tank into the municipal tank , using a simple motorized pump.
At the Police, according to Mr. Sykiotis, the municipal councilors “on the one hand replied that they were carrying out the orders of the mayor Ilias Kyrmanidis and on the other hand they did not show any documents for the suitability of a water tank vehicle intended for human consumption”.
At the same time, Mr. Sykiotis claims, according to information, in his report that the water came from a source used for agricultural work. The transport of water with the plastic tank has now stopped and the residents of Agios Konstantinos see their taps running dry in the afternoons.
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