Greece unveiled on Wednesday a five-pillar national plan to tackle the growing problem of water scarcity.
It is recalled that Greece is considered a “hot spot” for climate change in the Mediterranean area and it is highest time, the government gets active on this issue.
“A national plan to tackle the growing problem of water scarcity is an urgently needed reform,” it was stressed during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday.
The meeting focused on water scarcity and the key axes of resolving the issue, while it was made clear that, in the short term, answers must be provided to current pressing needs and, in the medium to long term, the country must prepare for the major challenges of the next 30 years.
The prime minister stressed that “water is and will remain a public good and a resource of vital importance, and must be treated as such.”
A detailed presentation of scientific data clearly showed the magnitude of the problem due to the climate crisis across all Mediterranean countries, taking into account that Europe is the fastest-warming continent worldwide.
Based on the data, Greece ranks 19th worldwide in terms of the risk of water scarcity. Water at Greek dams is at historically low levels, while it is indicative that reserves in Attica have decreased by more than 50% compared to 2022.
Given these conditions, a comprehensive approach to addressing the issue was decided upon, as opposed to the fragmentation between different agencies that exists at present.
The government intends to proceed with a radical change in the country’s water management model, moving to a more functional system with greater efficiency and more investments. This effort will utilize new technologies, as well as complementary methods of water production, such as desalination.
The plan includes consolidating over 700 small, mostly municipal water utilities into just three main entities, aiming to streamline operations and improve the distribution and conservation of water resources.
The five main pillars of the national plan are:
-Water is and will remain a public good, as provided by the Constitution and the rulings of the Council of State
-Sustainable water supply, irrigation, and sewage companies, aiming for acceptable costs for all uses
-Comprehensive planning and centralized management of all necessary projects, both small and large
-Urgent initiatives in the next six months, combined with a campaign to inform and sensitize citizens
-New technologies and complementary water production methods (desalination, recycling, and reuse)
These pillars are expected to be analyzed in more detail in the near future.
It was pointed out that the plan will also lay the foundations for the implementation of projects that have already been initiated or are under study. Currently, more than 1,200 water management and utilization projects are underway, of which 1,090 concern water supply and 237 concern irrigation.
As noted, these projects add to the 278 that have already been completed from 2019 to the present. However, it was made clear that further investments and more coordinated efforts are obviously needed to address this major social and national issue.
PS they may also consider to tackle the water issue in times of ongoing ‘investment in tourism’, as it is a serious issue when the number of tourism is 3 to 4 times higher than the number of the country’s population.
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If I understand correctly, their only actual idea is to merge many small water companies into three big ones. Has anyone pointed out to malaka Mitsotaki that ALL of the Greek state controlled large companies have without exception been a disaster? How is this a plan?
As for alternative technologies, such as desalination and recycling of sewage, the resulting water is undrinkable. I have no expertise in this matter (merely a well-functioning brain), but it seems to me that Greece needs to protect its drinking water supply, stop all the idiots who flood the streets of Athens with high quality water just to wash and cool the pavement, and invest in a new lower tier of non-drinking water supply.
My guess is that they intend to convert the high quality water supply into a low quality one, and tell us to buy our drinking water from the supermarket in plastic bottles. Never mind that these bottles are very heavy to carry, and the water is contaminated with plastic!
Bravo Mitsotaki: another abject failure to your credit.
I wouldn’t worry too much about what he promises. We have had over 20 years of promises by the Government to resolve the water situation here on Corfu and we are still going weeks during the summer with no mains water. If they can’t resolve the issues on a smallish island in 20 years, what chance of resolving them for the whole country in our lifetime!!?
the point is: PM sees a problem, PM promises to solve the problem. When? Irrelevant… Who remembers promises? Only saints & kids.
“…invest in a new lower tier of non-drinking water supply.”
In many areas this already exists. I have both a domestic and an agricultural water supply to my property in Crete. THe problem is that both are pumped from the same aquifers so it doesn’t really help the shortage problem. The only difference is that the domestic water is treated, presumably with chlorine, and the agricultural isn’t.
They built a new dam near me several years ago precisely to supply the coastal hotel trade. As normal in Greece the contractor cut corners on the build to increase his profits and the dam leaked so they could never fill it.
Greece has known for decades that desertification is coming but has done nothing to prepare for it. Cyprus has been suffering from serious water shortages for all that period and provided a model of Greece’s future that was totally ignored.
25 (twenty-five!) years ago, the hotel I was staying at in Sharm El Sheik/Egypt was watering their lush green spaces very early morning with treated waste water. It would smell a bit, but by the time the guests got up, the sunshine would have “burnt” the smell away. The plants thrived and no precious drinking water was used. Why can some countries come up with solutions and others not?