“In the context of dealing with water scarcity and ensuring the water supply of the arid regions of the country, the Ministry of Environment and Energy is promoting a plan for the combination of RES projects with desalination and RES projects, pumping savings and desalination, which will be installed as a priority in the Cyclades, which face the biggest water shortage problem, as in some islands of the Aegean, having secured for this purpose a fund of 200 million euros from the Decarbonization Fund”, says the Minister of Environment and Energy Theodoros Skylakakis, in a document sent to the Parliament .

Mr. Skylakakis sent the document following a question from the president of the Hellenic Solution Kyriakos Velopoulos about the situation in Leros.

In the coming days, the Parliament will be informed by the Ministry of Environment and Energy about the issue of water scarcity and the projects that are being developed to deal with the pressures on the water capital and to deal with the consequences of the lack of rain and drought, according to what the Deputy Minister of Environment mentioned and Energy Alexandra Sdoukou, at yesterday’s meeting of the Parliament’s Production and Trade committee, during which many MPs raised the issue of government inaction and lack of strategic planning.

“Water scarcity is a matter of first priority and the Ministry of Environment and Energy has already allocated 90 million euros for water supply projects that will be carried out immediately, while EYDAP has drawn up a plan which will be implemented. Soon, moreover, a program will be activated for reservoirs on the islands, which will be used for irrigation and water supply,” said Mrs. Sdoukou. The deputy minister mentioned that there should have been reservoirs on the islands for many years. Today, however, the government has reserved a specific amount from the islands’ Decarbonization Fund, so that reservoirs to be used for irrigation and water supply can be quickly implemented. “We didn’t remember the water shortage now. Actions that have been brewing for months are being promoted. Water is permanently on our radar and the ministry is promoting several projects,” said the Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy.

A few days before the Parliament adjourned its work for the summer, the members of the Water Resources Subcommittee were informed about the preparation of EYDAP and the models on its table, given that in the last two years there has been little rainfall in Attica.

The drought

The managing director of EYDAP Charalambos Sahinis has informed the Parliamentary Committee about the current situation.

“Essentially, it hasn’t rained in the last two years. In Attica we consume approximately 400 million cubic meters of water. And with all the projects that have been done in the previous decades, both for Mornos and Evinos, essentially, as much water goes into our reservoirs as water comes out. In September 2022, our reservoirs had 1.1 billion cubic meters. Instead of remaining constant, in September 2023, this dropped to 950 million cubic meters, so we lost 150 million cubic meters. This year it didn’t rain, it didn’t snow, and that’s why we believe that at the end of this hydrological period, we will be at 700 million cubic meters. So we have a deficit of about 200 million cubic meters, which has been presented in recent months. At EYDAP we have models of what we will do if such conditions occur. Now we have 700 million cubic meters in our reservoirs and so, if the same situation continues, we have a reserve for about three years”, Mr. Sahinis informed the committee.

The models processed by EYDAP look for sources that will add water to the current reserves. “These sources are her sources Mavrosuvalas, which are below Parnitha, are the sources of the average river of the biotic Kifisos near Ylikis. We do not use these because they have an energy cost, because we pump the water from the underground and therefore they have an additional cost. But the models tell us that they should also come in to help us have water, not only for three years, but to be able, if the same conditions continue, to have water for the next four to five years, so that within that the time to have the opportunity to implement the long-term measures and convert them into medium or short-term ones. So basically right now we are on a yellow alert, that’s why we started a campaign to limit waste, with a basic message “you want water, turn off the tap”. for example don’t leave the tap running when you use your toothbrush, use your watering can instead of the hose to water», the managing director of EYDAP has stated and informed: “We are in close cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Energy. We will see if it rains from September onwards and if it snows from December onwards, to go, if required, to an orange alert.”

The next day

As the members of the Water Resources Subcommittee have been informed by the Managing Director of EYDAP, the other alternative, medium-term to long-term, solutions and models include:

  • Irrigation from Psyttalia, Elliniko, Thriasio: Three quarters of the water consumed by Attica ends up in Psyttalia and is thrown into the sea. It is therefore being studied whether it is possible from both Psittaleia and the Triassios Wastewater Treatment Center to use this water, which is clean because it has been previously treated for industrial use, to now also be used for irrigation along the entire coastal front. so instead of watering with potable water, water with recycled water. In this direction, works are being carried out in Elliniko, at the sewage treatment center that will operate there, to take both the sewage there and the sewage that is currently going to Psittalia, process it and irrigate the entire park of Elliniko and the neighboring facilities. The profit from this specific project will be twofold because energy will no longer be required to transport this sewage to Psyttalia and it will be cleaned on site. It is being studied in collaboration with the Region, that such sewage pumping can also be done for Tritsis Park.
  • EYDAP is working so that the other sewage treatment centers that will be built in Attica will also provide water for irrigation
  • With the integrated spatial investment, the Hadrian Aqueduct “progresses” so that the water collected there can irrigate parks, “from Parnitha to Kolonaki”. A network is already being built in Chalandri, with integrated spatial investment and in collaboration with the Region, because EYDAP is studying the use of such water not only for parks but also for customers who have gardens so that they irrigate with such water and not with drinking water.
  • Aquifer enrichment: “in many countries, reused water is used for aquifer enrichment. After this water is cleaned again, it is pumped to the water treatment plants and becomes potable. So just as rainwater ends up in the aquifer, so the water of Psittalia is studied to be directed to enrich the aquifer, and then, when and if necessary and after it has been naturally cleaned, to be pumped and cleaned by the treatment units as well water and make it drinkable.

“This is a practice followed by many countries. However, we will have to see the cost of such a practice, what will be required for the facilities through which the water will be transported. At the moment we are studying to see if there is an aquifer that is not contaminated in the Attica region to put this water, what is the cost of pumping it, transporting it to the processing units”, Mr. Sahinis has informed.

  • “Reservoirs in apartment buildings: It is being studied whether it is possible to utilize rainwater infrastructure, that is, when it rains in Athens, whether it will be possible to collect water in apartment buildings or in the fields to irrigate or to irrigate the gardens. There is a problem regarding the cost in relation to the amount of water that will enter the reservoirs, given the fact that it does not rain often in Athens
  • The desalination scenario: “If all else fails, in Attica we are lucky because we have water around us. Desalination has a high energy cost, but there are hours during the day when the price of a kilowatt hour is low since the photovoltaics come in”, according to what the managing director of EYDAP said.
  • The utilization of the tributary that goes to the lake of Kremasto is being studied. “Approximately 10 kilometers later there is another tributary and perhaps, in cases of need, a part of this water could be used. From these tributaries the water can come to Evinos by gravity, so there will be no energy costs”, said Mr. Sahinis who even pointed out that while all EYDAP reservoirs have a capacity of 1 billion cubic meters, the Kremasta have a capacity of 5 billion cubic meters.
  • Today EYDAP, due to the age of its network, loses 23% of water. In order to turn the situation around, investments for eastern Attica amounting to 1 billion are currently being developed and networks and facilities are being upgraded, projects are being carried out for smart meters, projects in the sewage networks, energy projects for zero energy.

“Where we were talking about projects worth 15 million euros a year, we are talking about a ten-year plan that reaches 3 billion euros. In cooperation with ERA, we will see which are the really necessary projects. Funding will also be sought from the EU and with low-interest loans and it will be our last option to go to the consumer and ask them for money for these projects because we want to continue to have some of the cheapest water in the world. We need to go from 15 million a year to 150 million a year, so we have to increase investments tenfold”, said the managing director of EYDAP.