Greece on Thursday announced a 2.5 billion euro plan of measures over a ten-year period to combat the threat of water shortages, particularly in Athens and the surrounding region, as well as on the many Greek islands.
“We have to be prepared for the worst possible scenario,” said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in the context of the drought in recent years and worsening climate conditions, reports
“It may snow, it may rain, but hope is not a strategy,” he added on the occasion of the centenary of Eydap, one of the country’s most important public water distribution companies.
It serves 4.4 million inhabitants of Attica, which includes Athens and its region.
Due to the decrease of reserves in recent years, the Minister of Energy and Environment, Stavros Papastavrou, presented on this occasion “an ambitious plan of 2.5 billion euros” over ten years to secure water resources.
These measures include “flagship work” to strengthen the water reservoirs that feed Athens’ network, as well as desalination works for tourist islands that suffer from severe water shortages, especially in the summer when many tourists come.
According to the minister, “water reserves for Athens are at their lowest level in recent years”, especially after the prolonged drought of recent years.
In more general terms, “the data shows that, after Cyprus, our country will face the strongest water stress in Southern Europe,” he insisted, adding that more than half of the Greek population could be affected.
Greece now ranks 19th in the world in terms of the risk of water shortages, Papastavrou said.
And, from 2022, Greece’s water reserves have decreased by about 250 million cubic meters per year, according to him.
This development came in the context of a 25% decrease in rainfall and a 15% annual increase in evaporation, he added.
