Reservoir

Amidst growing concerns about water scarcity, the Greek government has devised a five-pillar plan aimed at addressing this critical issue. The most ambitious of these plans involves transferring water from the artificial Kremasta Lake by connecting it to the Evinos and Mornos reservoirs, which supply the Attica region.

Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Staikouras emphasized on Tuesday that over 170 major dam projects are operational in Greece, serving as key pillars for water management safety, agricultural production, water supply, energy generation and flood protection.

The issue of water-logging that experts say our country is facing due to prolonged drought has led the relevant agencies to mobilize. The problem of water scarcity is of course a headache for EYDAP which has to take care of the water supply of a large part of the basin and especially the capital and the surrounding municipalities.

Like ghosts from the past, sunken villages at the bottom of water reservoirs are not meant to be seen. But the ruins of Kallio in the mountains of central Greece are becoming very much visible - and they have a warning to deliver.

Measures were announced on Tuesday to tackle future water shortages in Attica as the reservoirs of the Evinos and Mornos rivers are at historically low levels. More specifically, Attica will have enough water for four years if the drought of the last two years continues, according to announcement by the Environment Ministry and the state water company (EYDAP).

The Attica region is facing the prospect of water shortages, as the water reserves in Lake Mornos are decreasing significantly, according to a report on private broadcaster SKAI.

An artificial lake located in Central Greece, Mornos serves as a reservoir for the city of Athens.

“Water: There’s not enough. Therefore, we are careful to have it.” This was the message Athenians were “bombarded” with every day in the campaign for water conservation during the great drought of the late 1980s and into the mid-1990s.

The scientific community is sounding the alarm over the water scarcity alert that has been sounded in many parts of the country. A total of 14 municipalities in the country have been declared a state of emergency by the General Secretariat of Civil Protection.

Water stocks in the reservoirs of Public Power Corporation's hydroelectric units are at their lowest levels since 2017 due to minimal snowfall last winter.

In addition, hydroelectric plants have had to increase production recently in order to meet the demand for electricity from both the Greek market and neighboring countries.

A 1,213-meter long pipeline is being constructed using a tunnel boring machine, along with eight underground tanks (5 meters in width and 12 meters in depth) as part of efforts to prevent flooding in the suburb of Nea Filadelfia in western Athens.